


The Deep End

by heatherlynn22



Category: Frank Adler - Fandom, Gifted (2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Romance, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Relationship(s), Single Parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-01-04 12:09:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 230,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12168609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heatherlynn22/pseuds/heatherlynn22
Summary: After the contentious custody battle, Frank & Mary go on with their lives as usual. It isn't until an eventful night at Ferg's, that Frank starts to wonder if maybe his life might be missing something.





	1. "Killer Margaritas"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank spots a new girl at Ferg's.

This was a stupid idea.

That’s all Joey Kincade could think of as she walked up the steps to the bar. She had only been back in town for two days and she was already being dragged out on the town like nothing had happened. Her cousin Alice meant well, but Joey did not feel up to socializing. Going out was a stupid idea.

Joey looked up at the busy bar and felt so lost. She wasn’t sure how to plaster a convincing smile on her face and act like a pleasant human being. She was certain she looked as terrible as she felt inside. She wondered when she would stop feeling like she had the weight of the world resting on her shoulders.

“Come on, Joe. They make a killer margarita.” Alice noticed that her cousin had stopped walking up the stairs and had doubled back for her. Alice was full of energy and was so happy that Joey had finally come back home, even if it was under not so happy circumstances.

“I don't know if I can do this.”

“Stop. It’s just me...there’s nothing to ‘do.’ But that doesn’t mean you won’t find someone ‘to do’, if ya catch my drift.” Alice teased. She thought she was pretty funny, but stopped laughing when it looked like Joey was going to be sick. “Hey. You don’t have to talk to anyone if you don’t wanna. We can be antisocial together!”

“Cute. But that’s not exactly the definition of antisocial.” Joey mumbled and chewed on her bottom lip.

“Come on. One drink. Maybe two and, if you’re still not feeling it, we can bail. Come on. They have a pool table!” Alice tried to bargain and sweeten the deal as people tried to pass them on the stairs. “I missed you, Joe. Let’s have go have fun.”

Joey was fairly certain that, if the right guy came along, her cousin would disappear in a blink of an eye and leave her on her own. But Alice gave her a sad puppy dog face and Joey cracked a smile and gave in.

Joey hated that she had turned into such a joyless stick in the mud. She knew that she should be trying to get over being dumped and ghosted by her ex, Kevin. But in her defence, her situation was made exponentially more complicated due to the fact that her ex-boyfriend had not only left her, but had also abandoned his 3-year-old son, Sam, and had left him with her to deal with.

Kevin’s ex-wife had dropped the kid off on their doorstep about two months ago and Joey had been under the assumption that they'd both been trying to figure out how to be parents to a toddler, his toddler. To say that it had been hard would be an understatement. Neither one of them had known anything about kids and their loft had seemed to shrink by half it’s size overnight. Kevin hadn't even known that the boy existed in the first place and he'd had no idea what to do.

Joey had thought that she might possibly be on the verge of falling in love with Kevin and leaving him just because he'd suddenly become a father had seemed foolish to her, at the time. But switching gears and looking after Sam had put a huge strain on their relationship, but she'd had no idea just how much of a strain it had been until Kevin had left her.

Joey had woken up one morning and Kevin and all his stuff were gone. She had assumed that he'd just given up and had run away. Kevin had been such a cocky bastard when she'd met him. He would save his sweet side only for her and it had made her feel special. But maybe he'd always just been a cocky bastard and she had willfully imagined his sweet side? She was still reeling and trying to make sense of what had happened.

Needless to say, her world didn’t make much sense to her at the moment. But as foreign a feeling as it was, she was mom now. A single mom, no less, thanks to fucking Kevin.

Sam was a good kid, but he could also be a difficult kid. Maybe he was no more difficult than other three years olds, but Joey didn’t really have a frame of reference or any other kids to compare him too. But he was a smart, sweet boy who didn’t deserve what his parents' had put him through. Joey had loved that little boy for weeks before Kevin had taken off and it had only taken her about half a minute of soul searching to decide that she didn’t want to abandon him, too.

After an exhaustive search for Kevin had proved fruitless, Joey had applied to become Sam's legal guardian and was currently his foster mother. Moving home had seemed like a good idea after her flower shop had gone out of business a couple of weeks after Kevin had left and she had, reluctantly, had to bite the bullet and break the news to her mother.

Her mother had been amazing, as usual, and hadn't missed a beat. She'd gone into crisis mode and had tried to fix everything for her only child. She'd convinced Joey to move home and had even found her a job with the local florist. Unable to spend another day in the small apartment that she had shared with her ex, Joey made the appropriate calls then packed their bags.

Joey had a great relationship with her mother and her cousin, Alice (even though she hadn't visited them once since she'd left home after high school). But they still loved her dearly and the three of them had racked up epic phone bills over the years. But the rest of Joey’s family was another matter entirely. Her family history was complicated and not something that she had the strength to deal with given her current situation, but she had decided that her mother was right and she had came home anyway. She had so many mixed feeling about returning home and couldn’t help but feel like a failure.

Alice, bless her wildchild carefree heart, was not about to let her favourite cousin wallow and had showed up at her mother's house demanded a girls night. Joey’s mom, Jessie, had practically done a backflip at the thought of babysitting her grandchild for the first time and essentially had pushed Joey out the door.

Joey had compromised with the two of them and promised to go out to Ferg’s if they didn’t make her dress up. They had agreed to her terms, so she'd thrown on one of her many vintage band tees and a clean pair of distressed, skinny jeans and had been ready to go in ten minutes. But, after taking one look at her, her mom had sent her back to her room to put some makeup on and Alice had forced her into a pair of heels. All in all, when Joey had taken a look at herself in the mirror she hadn't been unhappy with the result. The person looking back at her almost looked like a person she had used to recognize during happier times.

The bar itself hadn’t been terrible. Joey had been to much worse in her day, but things went as expected. The margaritas were indeed killer and a cute guy did catch her cousin's eye in less than 30 minutes. Joey was halfheartedly watching the two of them dirty dance from across the room as she polished off her second drink alone at their table.

She had recognized few people that she had known from high school and a couple of guys had asked her dance. But Joey had been much more interested in keeping to herself and people watching. Truthfully, she was counting the seconds till she could make a break for it and call it a night. She was such a lightweight, she was already feeling the effects of her second drink as she scanned the crowded bar.

Joey looked around and noticed that they did have a pool table in the back, she was impressed. Her eyes had landed on a man sitting alone at the bar. He was handsome in a rugged, sad kinda way. There was something about him that made him stand out. He had that salt of the earth ‘I work with my hands’ thing going on and Joey couldn’t help but wonder what those hands of his could accomplish under the right circumstances with the lights turned off… or with the lights turned on, actually. Joey wasn’t picky.

She kept checking him out and had noticed that his eyes had a deep bedroom quality to them that that made her lick her lips. Then he had turned slightly and she saw just how blue his eyes were, even from across the room. He was her type and definitely had her attention even though he was wearing a terrible Hawaiian shirt that made her want to heave. She was still trying to decide if it was deal breaker or not.

But, because he was so hot, she had decided that she’d try and forgive his horrendous fashion choices. With a body like his, she figured that the whole idea was to get him out of this clothes in the first place right?

The alcohol had given Joey a warm flirty feeling and she had started to wonder if he was there with another girl, because there was a snowball's chance in hell that she would ever make a move on a taken man. But she couldn’t see a ring on his finger and he seemed to be alone and working on finishing his pitcher of beer. The bartender appeared to know him well and had an ease with him that made her assume that he must be a regular.

She looked down at her old Led Zeppelin t shirt and started to regret not wearing something a little bit more flattering. She started to consider what the odds were that a guy like him would be interested in her dressed like…well dressed like herself.

She licked her lips again and wondered if he lived far away because there was no way she would consider bringing a guy home to her mother’s house with Sam sleeping on the pull out couch. She didn’t care how cute Hawaiian shirt guy was, she wasn’t going to let herself fuck up that badly.

Joey shook her head and pushed all those thoughts away when she started to feel a pang of guilt seize her chest. A few weeks ago, she had been in a committed relationship and it was taking her heart a little while to catch up with current events. After what Kevin had done to her and Sam, she knew that they would never get back together, but her heart still felt so raw and fragile. Kevin might not have been the love of her life, but she had always been faithful to him and ogling a handsome stranger at a dive bar in her hometown made her feel dirty.

But it wouldn’t be like she was cheating. Kevin had left and she could do whatever she damn well pleased. If he didn’t want her sleeping with other men than maybe he should have stuck around. Instead, the asshole had taken all of his shit and had scurried away like a coward in the middle of the night and had left his kid with her. Kevin had made it very clear that he didn’t want her. Maybe the guy at the bar would? The alcohol was making the idea of a one night stand seem like a plausible way to move on and fuck all her problems away. The Hawaiian shirt was actually starting to look kinda nice on the handsome stranger.

But Joey knew better; fuck, being an adult sucked. As much as she hated her ex at the moment, she was not over him, at least, she wasn’t over what he had done to her and Sam. Falling into bed with some hot guy would be fun, but it could also mess up the new life that she was trying to build for her and her new foster kid.

Besides, the idea of sleeping with a hot nameless guy out of spite didn’t make her feel like a person that had their shit together...not that she actually was a person that had their shit together, but she was doing her best impersonation of one.

Joey was lost in her thoughts and hadn’t realized that she was still staring at Hawaiian shirt guy and felt like such a tool when he had, not only met her gaze, but was smirking back at her in approval. Damn that man was fine, his eyes locked on to hers and she felt butterflies in her stomach. She was caught, but he looked interested and amused with her. Maybe this night wasn’t a total wash?

She looked away quickly and ordered two shots from their waitress. Why not? If she was going to change her mind and talk to him at some point, she needed some liquid courage first. But as the waitress was placing the shot glasses on the table Joey noticed her cousin walking over to him.

 _Oh shit!_ Alice seemed to really know Hawaiian shirt guy. She was saying something to him that Joey couldn’t make out as she leaned against the bar and waited her turn to order another round of margaritas the both of them.

Gosh, he had the best laugh. Joey could hear it from across the room and over the music and it made her smile. For a second there, the world hadn't been resting on her shoulders anymore and she'd felt lighter than she had in weeks. His laugh was more intoxicating than anything they served behind the bar.

Whatever Alice had said to him had him clutching his chest and practically falling off his barstool. The guy that had been dancing with her cousin all night didn’t look too impressed and went back to his table with his tail between his legs.

Joey knew what that must have meant and her heart sank. Handsome Hawaiian shirt guy had probably slept with her cousin at some point and maybe still was. Her girl code stated that he was now officially off limits. Joey always tried to put sisters before misters.

Joey played with the shot glasses on the table and tried not to get too disappointed. Easy come, easy go. Alice was beautiful, fun and had lived in this town her whole life. Of course a man like Hawaiian shirt guy would have be on her radar at some point. Kudos to her for landing him. Joey wasn’t going to get in the middle. Plenty of fish in the sea and all those saying that are supposed to make you feel better for not getting what you wanted.  
\-----------------------------------  
“I know you're a good fuck and all, Frank, but the last thing Joey needs is to do ‘the walk of shame’ from your little shack tomorrow morning.”

“Alice.” Frank greeted her with a nod after he had finished laughing. “It’s been awhile, but it’s nice to know that I got a good review.”

“Well, I’m the town Yelp.” she shamelessly teased back.

“Ha! Well, we did have some fun. But I remember putting you in a cab in order to avoid the whole ‘walk of shame’ thing as I recall.”

“Yeah you’re a real classy guy, Frank.” Alice dryly teased as she ordered two more margaritas. “Seriously though you gotta chill. Go home with one your regulars. My cousin is off limits.”

“Oh so the pretty new girl is your cousin? Say, why aren’t you one of my regulars?”

“‘Cause I know better.” Alice laughed.

Frank took another quick look at the girl over his shoulder decided to mess with Alice for old times sake.

“Cock blocking isn’t really your style, Alice... hmmm Joey is it?” Frank practically purred in approval. “Nice, I like that. She’s a big girl. She looks lonely, though. Care to introduce me?”

Alice rolled her eyes and Frank tried to keep a straight face.

“For your information, she was the one eye fucking me by the way. She’s turned down three different guys so far. Maybe I’m the one she’s been waiting for?”

“Great, you’ve been watching her. That’s not creepy at all.”

“A hot girl I’ve never seen before walks in here with a body like that, of course I noticed. So did half the bar. I was about to buy her drink.”

“No need. She’s my date tonight, I’m buying her booze.” Alice quipped. “Besides she’s not your type.”

“Jealous?”

“Fuck you.”

Even though the two of them had only hooked up maybe three times over the six years they’d known each other, there was no animosity between Frank and Alice. She was cute and feisty, but they both knew what the score was. Neither one of them was looking for a happily ever after, just a good time and small escape from reality. Watching her get so pissed off and protective over her cousin had Frank wondering if she might be up for another good time.

“How is she not my type?” Frank teased. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing? She’s a ten. What the hell is a girl like that doing here anyway? She’s hot as hell, even with that big t shirt on. I like Led Zeppelin.” he teased referring to Joey’s vintage band tee. “She classes up the joint a bit, don’t cha think?”

He was trying to wind Alice up and make her jealous, but the more he described the brunette at the other end of the room the truer his words became.

“...she’s kinda cute actually… a little sad. But she’s not trying too hard. Definitely my type.” he took another look across the room and swallowed hard. Joey was actually stunning, so much so that he almost sobered up for a second. Frank felt something swirling around in his chest and quickly suppressed and ignored it. “Are you sure you’re related? Those big baby blues of hers can eye fuck anytime they want. She’s a ten.”

“You said that already.”

“Who is she?”

“A girl with some self respect. Like I said. Not your type.”

“Careful, Alice...considering our history…pot, kettle. One would say that maybe you were lacking in the self respect department yourself.” Frank was worried that he had already drunk too much and that he didn’t stand a chance with Alice’s cousin anyway. But pushing Alice’s buttons was better than boredom.

“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood, asshole, because you’d be wearing these if I wasn’t.” she motioned to the two margaritas the bartender had handed her.  
\----------------------------------  
Joey watched her cousin flirt with the handsome stranger and did the two shots that the waitress had brought her. The tequila burned down her throat and knew that she was going to end up paying for it the next morning. Three year olds get up ridiculously early and she refused to let her mom take care of Sam; he was her responsibility.

But she really wanted to numb the pain she was feeling. She wondered if there was something wrong or damaged about her? Something that made men like Kevin run and guys like the handsome Hawaiian shirt guy pick women like her cousin over her. Maybe she didn’t have that sparkle about her anymore?

Before she could go down that rabbit hole of depression and self loathing, she watched in horror as Alice abruptly threw both of their margaritas at the handsome stranger and stormed off.

Joey was stunned and quickly grabbed their coats, knowing that her cousin was seconds away from storming out of the bar. She couldn’t believe that Alice had made such a scene and had ended their night in such a dramatic fashion. The stranger was scooping sticky handfuls of slush off his face and shirt as Alice was stomping over towards her.

“Holy shit! I thought that I was the antisocial one?” Joey laughed and handed Alice her jacket. “Are you okay?”

“Fucking ASSHOLE!” Alice screamed and took a deep breath through her nose. “I’m just peachy, Joe. I just wasn’t in the mood to let some fucking drunkass, deadbeat, boat rat proposition me into having a threesome with my very own cousin. My own family for Christ sake!”

Joey’s mouth fell opened in shock. She looked over to the source of her anger and, if she didn’t know better, she’d think that the handsome stranger looked ashamed, as he, and everyone else in the bar, listened to Alice call out his outrageous behaviour.

Joey heard the murmur of the crowd and felt all of their eyes on her and cousin. She was embarrassed and hooked arms with Alice and ushered her out of the bar. She wasn’t sure why, but she looked back at Hawaiian shirt guy one last time before they left. The pain and regret written on his face was something that Joey was very familiar with and made her stop in her tracks.

She would later downplay what she felt and blame it on the alcohol, but in that moment it felt as though she was looking into a mirror, his pain seemed to match her own in such a perfect way. His sad eyes looked back into hers and time stopped.

Both of their faces softened as they stared into each other’s eyes. Joey wasn’t sure what was going on, but she felt a faint pull. She was still furious and mortified, but that pull was there. She’d never felt anything like it. It made her fingertips tingle and flush run over her skin.

Joey was thankful that Alice had dragged her out of that bar in the same manner that she had dragged her in there in the first place because she was seconds away from introducing herself and finding out what his name was.

She had an overwhelming urge to help and comfort the jackass. All her drunk mind wanted was to hear him laugh and make her feel lighter again.

Shit, was more fucked up than she realized.

Joey was right the first time. This was a stupid idea.

 


	2. "Second Impressions"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank wakes up the next morning and has to deal with the aftermath of his night out at Ferg’s.

 

**Deleted scene is briefly discussed. You can watch it[HERE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkd2qV9kf9Q)**

Frank was hurting the next morning. He was so hungover. Mary had came back home from Roberta's at noon like she was supposed to, but it still hadn’t been enough time for Frank to sleep off his pounding headache. To add insult to his own self-inflicted injury, Frank was also waking up alone.

Well, not technically alone. Fred always slept on Mary’s bed, but their two new cats, renamed Einstein and Bob, were sleeping on the empty pillow beside him. Judging him.

Apparently, getting screamed at and doused with two, ice cold, slushy margaritas wasn’t conducive to getting lucky. He had deserved it though, he really had. He winced remembering the stupid threesome comment he'd made to Alice at Ferg’s. He had been drunk and had taken his teasing too far, he hadn't thought it through. He'd just been trying to get a reaction out of Alice for old time’s sake. And well...he most certainly had.

Frank felt like such an ass. The horrified look on the new girl's face still haunted him the next morning and made his chest hurt. What had Alice said her cousin’s name was again? Joan? Jerry? Fuck, he couldn’t remember. But, holy shit, was she ever pretty. It was probably for the best; he figured he didn’t stand a chance with her anyway. Especially now.

Frank had dreamt about those blue eyes of hers all night long. Her boobs, too, for that matter, but he didn’t really have a say in where his mind went when he slept. But he had to admit, from what he remembered, the new girl’s body wasn’t a terrible image to dream about. He had seen her cousin naked a million years ago, and as drunk as he was, he would wager that the two women definitely shared a very favourable family resemblance. Comparing the two women made him feel like a bigger asshole. No wonder he struck out.

It had been a very long time since Frank had fantasized about a woman, he was starting to wonder if maybe he had made her up. It would be easier for him to accept being rejected, if maybe she wasn’t as hot as he remembered.

Frank comforted himself by telling himself that he had probably built her up too much in his mind. Maybe he was drunker than he thought and Alice’s cousin’s hotness was just a serious case of beer goggles? He hoped that was the case, because missing out on a chance to talk to her really hurt his ego. As far as women were concerned, Frank was used to getting what he wanted, especially at Ferg’s.

His mind kept drifting back to new girl’s eyes. Fuck, he should have talked to her when he had that chance. What was he thinking?

Frank still didn’t understand that look she'd given him before she'd left the bar with Alice. It had been unnerving and had sent a chill down his spine that night and even again this morning, just remembering it. It was almost like she had seen past all of his bullshit and had been looking directly at the real him. It had felt so raw and personal, like she could grab him with a look like some kind of superhero. He wasn't sure if he had ever felt anything like it.

It had really freaked him out. So much so, that he'd almost ran out after them. But he'd stopped himself when he'd realized that he had no idea what he was going to say to her. Apologizing for being a stupid drunk asshole hadn’t seemed like the best icebreaker or pickup line.

What would he have said? _“Well hi there, you’re the hottest thing I’ve seen walk through these door in years. Sorry about the whole threesome incest thing. I’m actually only interested in you, not your cousin...your cousin that I’ve hook up with a few times already a lifetime ago. So whadda say I shower off these margaritas and take you back to my place?”_

Instead, the bartender had given Frank a fresh shirt to wear and he'd quickly finished his pitcher of beer and done three shots of whiskey before he'd stumbled home, alone.

Frank was grateful that Mary hadn’t picked up on his funk or his hangover. She had been on her laptop for the majority of the day and Frank had almost forgot that she was even home. After he took a nap and an extra long shower, he tried to go on about his Saturday as usual. But it wasn’t working. He tried working on a motor he had laying around, but he just couldn’t focus. He considered trying to get a hold of Alice and clearing the air, but he wasn’t in the mood to get yelled at again.

It could have been the hangover or the regret, or a bit of both, but Frank had just felt so off all day. He couldn’t shake it and all of the Tylenol that he had taken hadn’t helped his headache in the slightest. He was getting too old for those kind of benders. Besides, with the notable exception of having a new girl to fantasize about, last night hadn't even been all that fun. It was hardly worth the pain. Frank knew at some point he needed to get a life, but, at the moment, he would rather sulk and nurse his wounds.

Roberta had brought over an early dinner for him and Mary that afternoon and kept giving him a knowing side eye at the dinner table until Frank couldn’t take it anymore. He was tired of being the source of everyone’s disapproval.

“Mind telling me what your problem is now, Roberta?”

“Mind telling me what your problem is with Jessie's daughter?” Roberta quickly fired back without missing a beat.

“Jessie doesn’t have a daughter,” Frank scoffed and kept eating.

Roberta must have gotten her wires crossed somewhere and Frank wasn’t in the mood to humour her or let her pin something on him that he didn’t do.

Jessie was one of Mary’s Girl Scout leaders and one Roberta’s closest friends. The two of them played bridge together twice a week. It was more like a little old lady gossip club that got together and drank whiskey out of teacups and kept each other informed on all of the going ons in their small town than an actual bridge club. Roberta and Jessie were the youngest members. If Frank didn’t get his life together, he could envision himself becoming an honorary member himself one day.

Jessie owned the lot of rental houses across the street from Roberta’s lot and she had always been very kind to him and Mary. Jessie was actually pretty cool; she was older than him, but didn’t really look it. He always halfheartedly wondered why the two of them never hooked up. But in all of the years that Frank had know the woman, she’d never mentioned having any children. There’s no way in hell that he would do anything to hurt her or any one of her imaginary daughters.

“Oh yes she does,” Roberta countered. “How much did you drink last night? Alice dragged that poor girl off to Ferg’s last night trying to put a smile on her face and then had to drag her right back out after they ran into you. Well done, Romeo.”

“Oh shit!”

Frank dropped his fork and it clanged against his plate. Jessie might never have mentioned a daughter, but Jessie was Alice’s aunt, so maybe there was some truth to Roberta’s claims. He felt like a dumbass for not putting two and two together.

“Jessie has a daughter! What’s her name?” Mary had a large eager smile stretched across her face. She loved Jessie and was hoping to gain a new friend.

“Yeah and how old _is_ she?” Frank asked in a snappy way. “Is she even old enough to be of drinking age? There was no way that Jessie has a daughter that old." Frank already felt like an asshole, but the thought of possibly unknowingly lusting over a minor made him sick to his stomach.

“Well I’ll let Jessie know you said that. It’ll make her whole week.” Roberta laughed at Frank’s confused and helpless expression. “Jessie may not look it but she’s 52. She got pregnant pretty young, though. Raised that girl all by herself.”

“What is she like? Does she go to Girl Scouts, too?” Mary asked.

Frank swallowed hard and tried to keep his dinner down. He still didn’t know how old this girl was, and there was no way that he had been hot for a girl old enough to be in Girl Scouts. What the fuck was wrong with him?

Roberta knew how Frank had put his foot in his mouth the previous night and took pity on him and answered Mary’s question when he started turning green.

“Not any more. She’s a grown up baby, but I know you’d like her.” She turned and spoke directly to Frank. “I think she’s 30, maybe 31. So you can relax.”

“Her name is Josephine, but I’ve always known her as Joey. Lovely girl, you remind me a lot of her when she was your age.” Robert said, referring to Mary. “She moved away just after she graduated from high school, with honors. Jessie is over the moon that she’s back home where she belongs.”

“When can I move away? Since I’m not going to high school.” Mary asked.

“When you’re an adult or when you’re ready.” Frank told her quickly and rubbed his face with both hands. “We can discuss it later when the time comes,” he added with a loud sigh.

Frank’s head was starting to pound again at the sound of Joey’s name. He was relieved that she wasn’t a teenager, she and Jessie must share the same age defying genetics that’s for sure, because they both looked at least ten years younger than they actually were.

He started to replayed in his mind how Joey’s blue eyes had gone from hard and angry to soft and perceptive in a matter of seconds. He felt new waves of shame wash over him and regretted not making things right with her and Alice before they'd left. Or maybe they were waves of nausea? This hangover was killing him, he had to stop drinking so much, after all, he wasn’t 23 anymore. He'd fucked up and knew he needed to to apology to her.

“Can we meet her?” Mary asked as she finished her food. “Does she like cats? Does she have a piano?”

“Frank, here, already met her and apparently he didn’t make the best impression,” Roberta chided.

“I know, I know. I’m gunna apologize. Drop it.”

“You better. Joey is a sweet girl that has been through her fair share of drama lately. I don’t want anyone scaring her off. Jessie had to beg that poor girl to come back home after -” Roberta looked down at Mary’s big bright eyes and bit her tongue.

“I’ll talk to her.” Frank sighed. He had no idea what Roberta was talking about, but he knew, with Mary listening, it wasn’t the best time to get all the details. “I messed up. I have a lot of experience with women being mad at me. Joey, is it? She won’t be the last women I piss off, I’m sure of it.”

“If you scare that girl away...or make her feel unwelcome here...” Roberta warned.

“I said I’ll talk to her. Drop it.”

“Uh huh. She’s staying with her mama across the street 'til she finds a place of her own. So any time like you feel like dragging your sorry butt over there...”

“Shit.” Frank had been thinking about that girl all day and had no idea that she was basically next door to him the whole time.

\-----------

The sun was starting to set as Frank stared out onto the water. After dinner with Roberta, he'd needed a moment to clear his head and the beach had always been a place that reset him somehow. It was getting late, though. He knew he should be getting Mary back to the house. She had a Girl Scout meet up in the morning that she was excited about and needed to get her sleep. But she looked adorable out on the beach chasing the waves and singing silly songs to Fred.

Unlike the one-eyed cat, Bob and Einstein were terrified of the beach, so they always stayed back at the house. Frank suspected that while they were out having fun and watching the sunset, their two new little hell cats were back home clawing up his sofa or destroying something.

Frank loved these moments when Mary got to be a kid without a math problem in sight. Watching her have fun and act her age made him feel like less of a fuck up.

Things were a lot better for him and Mary since they had reached their compromise with Evelyn. Mary was able to get the education that she deserved, but also got a chance to socialize with kids her own age and step away from the academic pressure when she needed to. It was a balance that his sister had never had a chance to experience growing up. Frank still had no idea if he was doing the right thing or not, but some of the weight had been lifted off his shoulders in the past few months.

Evelyn was busy trying to prove Diane’s theory, as he suspected, but she still kept in contact more than he thought she would. She appeared to have backed down and trusted him to raise Mary and had even offered to pay his legal bills. They were both, essentially, getting what they wanted where Mary was concerned, but dealing with their own relationship still felt messy and complicated. There were just too many years of passive aggressive anger and blame between them. It was hard to sift through. But like it or not, she was still his mother and, more importantly, Mary’s grandmother.

The only true casualty of the entire mess with his mother and the custody battle was his relationship with Bonnie. Frank had fucked things up royally with her. He'd broke up with her after he'd stupidly sent Mary away to school. He had missed his niece and had hated himself after their goodbye. Having Bonnie be nice to him and trying to be there for him had pissed him off. He hadn't deserved her compassion. Instead of being an adult, he'd thought the best thing to do would be to force Bonnie to hate him, so he'd said some hurtful stuff.

If he had been honest with himself at the time, starting a relationship surrounded by all the stress and drama that had been brought on by the custody battle had been a horrible idea. He'd felt suffocated and it had made him act out. True to form, he'd thought that he should keep Bonnie at arm’s length. That had always been his style when it came to women. But it had been exhausting with everything that had been going on.

He'd pushed her away instead of dealing with the fear of opening up to someone and letting them see him at his most vulnerable. But now that he’d had some time and distance from the situation, he regretted acting like such a dick. Bonnie’s heart had been in the right place, he just hadn't been ready to let her in.

Frank had to admit that it had been Bonnie’s interest in him as Mary’s uncle and guardian that had peaked his interest in her more than anything else. But that hadn't been the greatest basis for a well-rounded relationship. He still admired the hell out of her, but, once the dust had settled, he'd realized that they didn’t had a lot in common. Even though Frank wished that he had handled things better, ending things had ultimately been for the best. Bonnie could do a lot better than him.

Bonnie had been the first woman that he had tried to seriously date since he'd started raising Mary. He had no idea what he was doing, but meeting her had opened his eyes to so many things, mostly, the fact that he was pretty fucked up when it came to the whole significant other thing.

Frank was used to women never really seeing him, not all of him anyway. It wasn’t really their fault though; his life with his niece was a huge part of who he was, yet he had never let a woman near it. He had always thought it best to compartmentalized his personal life from his family life. 

As a result, to most of the women that Frank had been with, he was just the guy from the bar. Or the seemingly uneducated, going nowhere guy that worked on their father’s or husband’s boat. In their eyes, he certainly wasn’t an uncle struggling to raise his gifted niece by himself. He’d never let anyone see the full picture.

Frank had always felt fake and one dimensional with most women he’d been with, almost like he had been playing a character. So to cope, he had stuck to strictly having a good time and living in the moment. Bonnie, being Mary’s teacher, had been different. Frank had been able to talk about his life and share his fears and problems for the first time with someone other than Roberta. It had felt good.

Even though things hadn't worked out with Bonnie, Frank had discovered that he really liked being truly seen by another person. It had been sad to say goodbye to her, but the whole experience had Frank wondering if there was a chance for something more one day with a different woman. Maybe if the right girl came along, he might try letting her in and letting her see all of him. The good, the bad and the ugly.

At this point, it was just wishful thinking. A nice fantasy he liked to think about when he brought Mary to the beach and stared out onto the water while she played.

He had burned so many bridges in this town with women over the years. He knew what his reputation was, mostly thanks to Roberta’s whiskey drinking bridge club filling him in. He had a feeling that a real relationship just wasn’t in the cards for him, whether he wanted one or not. The embarrassing way that he'd acted the previous night with Alice and Jessie’s daughter only served to prove that point.

Frank’s headache was threatening to come back as he sat on the beach and considered his fate. He was trying to make peace with the fact that he was going to grow old alone and become the male version of an old cat lady. He watched Mary play and reminded himself that, at the very least, he was going to have the opportunity watch her grow up. That was more than he could say for his sister. His chest began to feel tight as he thought about Diane and all that she was going to miss out on over the years. She would never know how amazing Mary was and Mary would never have a mother.

He felt that familiar feeling of guilt and sadness wash over him. It was like an old friend, at this point. He knew the drill, he’d been feeling it since he let his sister down six years ago. To some extent, he’d always felt a version of that same sadness, even before Diane’s suicide, thanks to growing up being Evelyn’s non-gifted child.

When his depression surfaced, things would usually progress in the same manner. He’d hate himself for awhile and feel sad and guilty until he distracted himself with looking after Mary or going back to Ferg’s. Distraction, as far as Frank was concerned, was the key to coping.

He took a deep breath and looked out onto the water and tried to remember Diane’s face. He hoped that he hadn’t let her down again by giving Evelyn her theory. He had to believe that she would understand why he had to do what he did. Mary’s childhood was more important than punishing Evelyn. His reason’s all made logical sense, but the guilt and uncertainty had still been there gnawing away at him.

Frank needed a drink; apparently, he had learned nothing from the previous night. If Roberta couldn't look after Mary again, then he was going to pick up a six pack on the way home. But first, he wanted to soak in the scenery. Sunsets were Mary’s favourite and it wasn’t often that they had the whole shoreline to themselves.

Or so he'd thought.

Frank wasn’t sure he had heard it at first, but, the closer the voices got, the clearer the sound became. It was the unmistakable sound of a woman’s laughter.

There was something about the way the sound traveled through the air that made Frank sit up a little straighter in his lawnchair. He looked out and saw the outline of a woman and a small child playing in the sand. He couldn’t help but smile at the their cuteness and, after a few minutes, he was thoroughly enjoying the little show that they were unknowingly putting on.

The woman was so happy and silly and was pretending to kick up in the air and do her best ninja impression, sound effects and all. The giggles of the little boy were just encouraging her and, at first, Frank was almost embarrassed for her.

She jogged along the sand and did an impressive cartwheel, trying to teach the toddler how to do one as well. It just ended up with her doing all the work and flipping him around. But the little boy's efforts just had her laughing even harder.

Damn, she had a great laugh. He wasn't sure if he’d ever admired, or noticed, a person’s laugh before, but this particular laugh was special somehow and had completely changed his mood.

They must not have noticed him and Mary because their silliness only continued down the beach. If the woman had known there was someone watching them, Frank doubted that she would've continued to behave so unabashedly silly and immature if she knew she had an audience.

Frank couldn’t take his eyes off their outlines. He couldn’t make out their faces, but there was something in the way that the young mother moved that had him transfixed.

It wasn’t just that she had a great figure and long beautiful hair that she kept pushing back off her face, it was that she was so graceful and yet clumsy at the same time. Frank couldn’t really make sense of it. It was as if there was a freedom in her movements, almost like she was dancing to the laughter of her son.

Frank was not familiar with that kind of happiness, it was foreign to him. He started to feel jealous of whoever the little boy’s father was based purely on the fact that he got a chance to experience that kind of joy on a daily basis. He almost hoped that the woman was ugly in someway. It was petty and uncharitable, he knew, but Frank was hoping that there was something bad about her to offset how perfect her outline looked as the sun set.

The sun was getting low as he watched the two of them continue to walk down the beach. When her son complained of getting tired, she picked him up and carried him, their outlines becoming one. The young boy rested his head on her shoulder and Frank could faintly hear her singing “you are my sunshine” over and over again as she played with his hair. It was beautiful; he couldn't recall his own mother having ever treated him as tenderly as a child.

When the pair got closer to his lawn chair, and they could see that they were no longer alone, the singing stopped and the young boy started to wiggle out of his mother's arms. Frank looked away and pretended not to be staring at them, but was surprised to see the little boy making a beeline towards his chair from the corner of his eye.

“Kitty! Kitty!” The little dark haired boy chanted and happily clapped his chubby hands together.

Fred knew what was coming and fell down on his side to show the little boy his furry belly.

“Sam, sweetie! You gotta ask first, buddy. Don’t scare him,” the mother called out and started to chase after her wayward toddler.

“Naw, Fred’s pretty cool. Aren’t cha, Fred?” Frank smiled down at the happy kid and watched him gently pat the cat’s belly.

“Sorry. Sam’s really into animals. Dogs. Cats. He’s an equal opportunity pet lover.” The woman had laughter in her voice as she explained and made her way to Frank’s lawnchair.

Once she got close enough for her eyes to focus on the man with cat, Joey’s shoulders fell. She recognized him almost immediately. It was the hot Hawaiian shirt guy from the previous night that had some kind of sordid history with her cousin. Only, after a night of listening to Alice complain about him, Joey now knew that his name was Frank "Jackass" Adler.

Frank recognized her as well and his heart sank, he hadn’t had an opportunity to walk across the street and apologize to her yet. He was almost disappointed that she was even better looking than he remembered. It was as good a time as any to apologize for the way he had acted. He was sorry, but he also didn’t want to burn any bridges with Jessie. Mary and Roberta loved her and she was his back up babysitter. Frank stood up and gave her his best boyish smile and tried to lay on the charm a little bit.

“Hi.” Joey spat out and pressed her lips together. “Sam, sweetie, we gotta go it’s getting late.”

“Wait. Hi...Um about last night..” Frank started to apologize, but got distracted by her big blue eyes. He had been dreaming about those eyes all night and, in person, he realized his dreams had not done them justice at all. Even during twilight, they still seemed to glow. All of his standard rehearsed apologizes were stuck in his throat.

Mary had noticed a little boy playing with her cat and made her way back to them and was introducing herself to the little cute boy. Frank was grateful that Mary had come back, she was a pretty good buffer. He felt so awkward, but it was interesting to watch Mary coo over the toddler. She actually sounded like her age for once. It gave Frank a moment to gather his thoughts and try to figure out a way to make things right with Jessie’s daughter.

“I’m Frank Adler. I live across the street from your mom, actually. This is my niece, Mary.” He didn’t know where all of this nervousness was coming from and rubbed his palms against his jeans. He wished he had cleaned up a bit before coming down to the beach. He didn’t want to shake her hand and get motor oil all over her.

“I’m Joey Kincade and this is Sam.” Joey smiled down and spoke to Mary instead of speaking directly to Frank.

Joey wasn’t ready to let him off the hook yet and was worried that if she kept looking at him, his attractiveness would break her resolve. She had spent the day convincing herself that she felt nothing for the jackass, but the longer her and Sam stood there, the more she realized what a liar she was.

“You must be Jessie’s daughter! Roberta just told us about you!” Mary beamed. “Wow you have really blue eyes! But Jessie has brown eyes. That means that your dad has a 19% chance of having brown eyes like your mom. 50% chance of having blue eyes like you. And only 12% chance of having green eyes.”

Joey was surprised that the little girl had brought up her father and stammered for a moment before smiling down at her. She knew the little girl had meant no harm, but she was still taken off guard.

“Wow! You’re really smart aren’t cha?” Joey praised to avoid talking about her parentage. “How did you know that?”

“I just read a genetics chart.” Mary shrugged as if that was normal reading material for a seven-year-old girl. “Frank is going to apologize, don’t worry. He didn’t mean whatever he did. He’s a good guy.”

Joey couldn’t help but laugh and nod at the little girl and admire her openness. The fact that her confession made Frank a little bit more uncomfortable was a bonus as well.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Mary. And what’s your furry, one-eyed friend’s name?”

“He’s Fred. He really likes Sam.”

Mary wasn’t kidding. Fred was purring loudly and rubbing up against Sam so hard that the little boy fell over giggling. Joey let her guard down and laughed with the kids and petted the cat along with Sam.

“Hey..um.” Frank had waited until Mary had told Joey and Sam all about how they found Fred and showed them a few tricks that she had taught him, before he motioned for them to talk a little bit more privately away from the kids. Joey took the hint and turned away with him and let the kids play with Fred.

“I dunno about being a good guy, but I am sorry about last night. I was drunk. I know that’s kinda a bullshit excuse. I was just trying to mess with Alice and I took things too far. I really didn’t mean it.”

“So you don’t want to have a threesome with us?” Joey tried to sound as disappointed as she could and looked up at him with big innocent doe eyes.

Mary and Fred had completely won Joey over and she believed that Frank was genuinely sorry. She figured that she was already going to accept his apology, but she wanted to mess with him first. And boy was it working. She tried not to smile as a deep blush burned into Frank's already tan cheeks.

He stammered and looked down at his shoes until he finally puffed out a nervous laugh.

“I deserved that.” He chuckled and nodded his head.

“Yes. Yes, you did. I lost out on a killer margarita because you thought you were in the Playboy mansion.”

Frank laughed loudly and the sound pulled on Joey’s heartstrings. This was going to be a problem, she told herself. She tried not to like him, he was off limits after all, but the more he smiled, the more she felt her resolve slowly slipping away.

“I definitely owe you a margarita.” Frank tried to catch his breath. What was it about this woman that had him giggling like a little kid? “Ferg’s makes pretty decent ones from what I’ve heard. Try not to get any in your eyes, though. They sting like a sonofabitch.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“But seriously though, I thought I was being funny with the whole threesome thing. I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t mean to imply...I mean, it’s not like I thought you’d be into a threesome or anything. I personally have never had the opportunity to have a threesome...not really the point. Uh, but if threesomes are _your_ thing, then by all means...I’m not judging.”

The more Frank spoke, the more nervous he became and the more he was certain he sounded like an idiot. He wondered how many times he was going to use the word threesome. Now would be as good a time as any to have the ground open him up and swallow him whole.

“It’s okay.” Joey smiled. Frank was obviously nervous and she found it endearing. “Threesomes aren’t really my thing. I prefer to disappoint my partners one at time.” she teased.

She was flirting with him. What the fuck was she doing? She just wanted him to laugh again so badly, she couldn’t help herself.

And boy did he laugh. He held on to his chest the same way he had done the previous night and doubled over. It was music to Joey’s ears and she fought the urge to wrap her arms around a man that she didn’t even know. A man that could already be spoken for. What was she doing?

“I am sorry, though, it was a fucked up thing to say,” he apologized through his laughter. “She caught me checking you out. I was trying to make her mad.”

“Well mission accomplished.” Joey sarcastically teased and was rewarded with another loud laugh from Frank.

That sound did things to her that knew she had to try and ignore. If Frank had something going on with her cousin, then nothing could happen between them. It didn’t matter how hot he looked during a romantic sunset on the beach, surrounded by cute children and one-eyed cats, she was not the kind of girl that goes after a taken man.

But that’s the problem with irresistible things. They’re almost impossible to resist. Joey was playing with fire and she knew it.

“She might have been more amenable to your offer if we weren’t related. So maybe next time maybe cool it with the incest jokes,” she playfully suggested. “It’s not like we’re living in Game of Thrones or something.”

Frank looked her in the eye and tried to look at serious as he could. “Worse. Florida.”

Now it was her turn to laugh.

Before she knew it what was happening, they were making plans to have a friendly beer at his house after they had put their respective kids to bed.

Joey was officially in over her head.


	3. "Girl Power"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Joey and Frank are apprehensive about their upcoming “date”

*** _Deleted scene from Gifted is briefly referenced. You can watch it_** [HERE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQipD1pEIwM)

Frank was vigorously scrubbing his hands in the kitchen sink trying to remove any signs of motor oil from around his cuticles before Joey got there. Frank was nervous. He hadn’t been this nervous about a girl since Rebecca Nottingham in tenth grade

He had a little under an hour to become a totally different person and make a better impression on the new girl. After their run in at the beach, Joey had agreed to a friendly, no pressure, get-to-know-you beer out on his patio. She'd said yes so quickly so that had to be a good sign. But, then again, he was also trying to downplay the hell out of it in the hopes that she would agree to hang out with him. She was so warm and friendly; maybe he was already friendzoned without realizing it?

No way. Frank shook his head as he scrubbed. Joey had flirted back on the beach. Not in an over the top “your place or mine?” kind of way, but in a smart, funny, not trying too hard way. She had flirted in a way that had him feeling something that he just couldn’t shake. But there were definitely signs that she was interested...at least he hoped there were.

The pressure was on and Frank didn’t want to blow his second chance. He thought for sure that he had messed things up beyond repair at the bar. Joey had seemed like such a cool chick on the beach; he really hoped that she didn’t come to her senses and back out.

Frank had this annoying sense of hope forming in his chest that he was trying his damndest to ignore and suppress. What if Joey was the one to save him from becoming an old crazy cat lady? Frank wasn’t picking out china patterns or anything, yet, but he was hoping for something maybe a little bit longer than one night with her. If she could see him at his worst and still want to hang out with him that had to be a good thing, right? Or maybe she was just stupid and had no standards? What the hell would a girl like her see in him?

Frank had been so lost in his thoughts and that he hadn't realized he'd been scrubbing his hands too hard and that one of his cuticles had started to bleed.

He needed to calm down. Why had he invited Joey over to his house? That was against all of the rules that he’d lived by for years. It wasn’t like this was just another Friday night hook up from Ferg’s that could leave unnoticed the next morning; Mary was still home for Christ's sake. There was a big possibility that this was a huge mistake and could blow up in his face.

But really, what harm could it cause? This was what regular normal people did when they have their shit together, right? They talked. They shared a beer and they took things slow. As much as he wanted her, he didn’t have to sleep with her.

Frank kept trying to justify his new behaviour to himself. He didn’t have to land this girl right away. He could just try to get to know Joey a little bit more first. He could actually listen to her instead of plotting in his head how to get her into bed while she spoke. Normally, he would just wait for his turn to speak, but Joey had held his attention the whole time. Even before he'd recognized her and Sam playing on the beach, he had been fascinated with her.

Since he was already breaking his rules, why not change his whole approach for this girl? Joey was hot as hell, so he might ultimately regret his new found noble impulses, but, the more he thought about it, the more he had every intention of keeping things PG for the time being.

Frank was sure that they would find something to talk about; Joey hadn’t seemed boring in the slightest. All of the drama that Roberta had alluded to earlier was still a mystery to him. He was curious about her and he wanted to know why she moved back in with her mom. Not to mention that he also wanted to know what the deal was with Sam’s father.

He was an adult, he was sure he could keep his hands to himself for an evening and just have a conversation. It would be a piece of cake, if he could keep himself from getting tongue tied, those big blue eyes of hers were very distracting.

Frank tried to cool his jets and tell himself that he was building her up too much in his mind. The hope swirling around in his chest was freaking him out too much. He hadn't even known that Joey had existed two days ago.

He tried to convince himself that her smile didn’t just completely slay him. That her eyes didn’t sparkle and crinkle in a really cute way when she laughed. She wasn’t self-deprecating and kind in a way that made his chest ache when he thought about her. Joey was just another pretty girl, nothing special.

If she was special then she could hurt him, if she rejected him. Getting his heart and ego stomped on was not an option. He could see Joey in his mind’s eye and realized that he was terrible at lying to himself.

He knew that he should be keeping his expectations low, but he had to admit that, after flirting with her on the beach, he felt like a love sick puppy. Frank knew enough about women to know that it wasn't the coolest play to act too eager. Downplaying Joey in his mind wasn’t working; he just hoped that he wouldn’t scare her away by doing something creepy, like trying to smell her hair or something.

Frank watched Mary unpack their groceries and hoped that when she started dating (in her thirties) that she found a guy better than he was.

“I don’t get why you grownups drink this stuff. It’s gross.” Mary made a sour face as she found room in the fridge for the six pack of beer that Frank picked up for his date on the way home from the beach.

“Yes. It’s gross. Very gross. Hopefully you’ll never develop a taste for it.” Frank matter of factly stated from the kitchen sink as he dried his hands.

“If it’s gross then why drink it? The CDC has reported that excessive alcohol use can lead to an increase in liver disease.”

“‘Cause I, unfortunately, developed a taste for it…and your liver is overrated,” he dryly teased.

Frank gave up on his hands. They were as clean as they were going to get. He had a running list of things that he needed to do before Joey got there. He needed to change his clothes and find a clean shirt. Maybe he should shower first? Was cologne a good idea?

But first he need to breathe and get Mary to bed before she noticed how nervous he was. Mary usually picked up on everything and now she had him worrying about his liver.

“Can I stay up and say hi to Joey?”

“No.”  
  
“But I like her. She’s nice and funny...kinda like Jessie is actually. She’s pretty like her mom too. I guess that’s because they’re related.”

Frank could sense a very intelligent tangent coming from his gifted niece and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“There’s a debate on whether family personality traits are genetically pass down or if it’s those traits are simply nurtured by being in close contact during formative years of development. Nature vs Nurture.”

“Uh huh.” he huffed half listening and took a deep breath.

“...do I take after my mom at all?...I mean other than the all math stuff?” she added in a soft voice.

Frank had been just about to tune Mary out, but was glad he hadn't. He smiled down at her and brushed her hair away from her face.

“Of course you do. You both hate onions and you guys sneeze exactly the same way.”

“Really?” Mary’s eyes lite up and Frank couldn’t help but smirk at her. She always had a way of pulling him out of head and reminding him what was important.

“Oh yeah.” Frank demonstrated for her. Both his sister and his niece had a very distinctive sneeze. Three sharp breaths in followed by the tiniest squeak and a quick shake of their head.

“So point one for nature over nurture.” Frank teased and playfully pinched his niece's nose.

Mary giggled and it made Frank relax a little bit more. They had been talking more about Diane since the custody battle. It had been painful at first, but it had been getting a little easier the more he opened up.

The cheap shot that the quack therapist, Dr. Golding, had taken at him in court still stung. Maybe he should have been helping Mary more when it came to her feelings towards her mother. He would do anything for his niece, but he still held many conflicted feelings towards his sister and how she had changed his life. He had to admit, he had been willfully ignoring the topic for years.

“I really like Sam, too. He was really cute and Fred really liked him. I read somewhere that cats can sense good people. But it wasn’t a peer reviewed scientifically sound study, it was more anecdotal. But I think that Fred could tell that Joey and Sam were good.”

“You liked them?” Frank asked. “That’s good. It’s good to get out there and meet new people...try new things….maybe try things that you thought might have been more mundane in the past. You might find something that maybe you overlooked, something that was missing. Maybe by trying a different approach you’ll get a different result.”

Frank caught himself talking more about his new existential crisis than Mary making new friends. If by existential, you meant wanting to try dating a person and having them become an actual real part of your life instead of a roll in the hay.

Mary rolled her eyes at her rambling uncle and continued to go on about the toddler that had stolen her heart.

“Whatever. Sam was smart enough to be gentle with Fred,”

It was nice to see Mary coo over a cute baby. She had never really been one for dolls, but that girly mothering impulse was still there. Frank had seen it in her eyes when she'd talked about Sam all the way home from the beach. As it turned out, both Joey and Sam had left a big impression on all of the Adlers.

“Most babies his age would have done something stupid like pull on a cat’s tail or something, but he didn’t. Is he coming over, too? Say, why are we even having people over? We never have people over.”

“That’s not true, Roberta comes over all the time.”

Mary shrugged. Roberta was family, she didn’t really count and they both knew it.

Frank knew that if he was going to try and date someone one day he would have to bit the bullet and tell Mary about her. Whoever he dated would be a part of Mary’s life as well.

He'd always had so many convenient reasons for not having a real girlfriend. He had mostly used Mary as an excuse for years. He'd told himself that he would inevitably fuck up somehow and he hadn't wanted to be responsible for another mother figure disappearing from his niece's life.

Later, when he'd suspected that Mary was gifted like Diane, his first impulse had been to try and hide it from the world. He hadn't wanted to risk his niece reliving his sister’s sheltered life. That was when he'd thought it best to homeschool her until he realized that she needed friends her own age.

But it had also given him another good excuse to close himself off. If he'd dated someone and they'd gotten close to Mary they would have eventually found out for themselves how gifted she'd had been for her age and that was a risk that he hadn't been willing to take. Since then, he’d been content to just hook up with women randomly at Ferg’s while Mary spent the night at Roberta’s.

“Do you like Joey the way that you liked Mrs. Stevenson?” Mary innocently asked.

Frank’s shoulders dropped and he took a deep breath. Bonnie had been the first girl in a while that he'd considered dating, probably because the cat had already been out of the bag about Mary being gifted. But he'd still managed to fuck it up and hated that Mary was reminding him of that fact. It had been a boost to his confidence to know that Mary already approved of Joey, until he considered that he could still blow it with her the way that he had blown it with Bonnie.

He had to took a moment and tried to be patient with his niece. His nervousness was making him irritable and he didn’t want to snap at her.

“No. It’s not like that.” Frank lied. “Joey is new here. We just want to get to know each other a little bit. We’ll be outside on the deck. But you’re going to bed because you have that Girl Scout thing in the morning.”

“She’s not new. She was born here.”

“I know, but she’s new now. So go get ready for bed. Please don’t give me a hard time, okay?”

Mary did as she was told and Frank looked out of the kitchen window just in time to see Alice’s car speeding down the road and abruptly pull up into Jessie’s driveway. Frank could hear her slam her car door from his house and he watched her rush into the house like her hair was on fire. Frank’s heart sank, that couldn't be good.

“Ah shit.”  
\---------------------------

What did I just do? I’m the worst person ever. I can’t actually do this...can I? What happened to girl code? Joey silently screamed to herself as she paced her mother’s guest room.

Joey regretted flirting with Frank on the beach. She shouldn’t have been flirting with a guy that had brashly suggested a threesome with her cousin. What the fuck was wrong with her? Where were her standards?

Not to mention the possibility that something could still going on between Frank and Alice. Flirting was one thing, but wanting to jump a guy that could be spoken for, was something else entirely. She couldn’t hurt Alice like that. Even if there wasn't anything going on now, though, it was sisters before misters, right?

Because as much as Joey tried to deny it, she really did like the jackass and, if Sam and Mary hadn't been on the beach with them, jumping him had seemed like a pretty good idea in the moment. She suspected that the feeling was mutual and she wasn’t sure if that was good thing or a bad thing yet.

Joey was glad that she hadn't given into temptation, she didn’t want to be that girl. It didn’t matter that the jackass from Ferg’s had turned out to be such a cute smartass the next day. It didn’t matter how many butterflies he had given her...or how he continued to make her feel when he laughed. Things had already gone too far, they could only be friends, if anything at all. No jumping.

Having a beer with Frank was not a date, it couldn’t be. Her cousin meant more to her than some funny, hot guy raising a cute little girl who did fun, quirky things; like bring their one-eyed cat to the beach.

Ugh! The more Joey thought about Frank, the more she gravitated towards his good qualities. She paced around her mother’s guest room and cursed herself for letting herself like him in the first place. But she was curious about him now. The temptation was so real, but she knew she would hate herself if she gave in. This wasn’t a date.

The little devil sitting on her shoulder reminded her that Alice had cursed him out for a good hour after they'd got home from Ferg’s that night. Maybe there was hope. Maybe she was blowing their relationship out of proportion? Alice had seemed to really hate the guy, so maybe there was nothing going on between her and Frank and jumping the hottie was still a possibility?

But on the other hand, maybe Alice was so mad at him because he was admittingly checking out another woman right in front of her and she'd gotten jealous. Joey refused to cross the line and become “the other woman” just because she liked some hot guy’s laugh.

Joey started to wonder if he was the type to laugh in bed. Not like during the act, that would probably freak her out, but at some point hearing him laugh during a hot makeout session would surely turn her on like nothing else.

Gosh, when had she turned into such a hornball? She did the math in her head and tried to pinpoint the last time she'd had sex. Kevin had left her close to two months ago, but she had to add on the month before that, because suddenly having Sam in their loft completely had devastated their love life. Who knew that going without sex for three months would find her throwing all of her girl power codes out the window at just a hint of a possibility. Joey hated herself, this whole thing was wrong.

She was being ridiculous, she was a mom now. Not some horny co-ed. She ignored the little devil on her shoulder that reminded her that moms could have hot sex, too, and cringed when she heard her own mother walking down the hall.

“Ma! Maybe I should cancel? Yeah. I’m gunna cancel.” Joey called out to Jessie through the half opened door. “Do you have his number?”

“I do have Frank’s number, sweetheart, but I’m not giving it to you.” Jessie sang out. “You can go across the street, like a big girl, and cancel face to face. I do recall teaching you some manners. Besides, it’ll give you a chance to get out of the house for a bit. Maybe talk to a man a little older than three.”

“You’re the worst.” Joey groaned and rolled her eyes at her mother’s attempts at match making.

“I’m the best and you know it.” Jessie laughed. “Go talk to the boy, Josephine. Have some fun. Is that what you’re wearing?” she added with a thick layer of shocked disapproval as she took in her daughter's causal appearance.

Joey suppressed the urge to snap at her mother and instead turned on her heel and started to dig through her suitcases in the search of something nicer to wear. She tried to breathe and ignored the snickering that her mother was doing as she watched her from the door frame of the guest room. Her mother was indeed the best, but she knew just how to push her daughter's buttons.

“I’m just kidding. You look lovely. It’s only Frank, sweetheart. I’d be surprised if he even put on a clean shirt. He’s cute, but he’s harmless. I told you and Alice that last night.” Jessie reminded her adorably frantic daughter.

After their very eventful girls' night out at Ferg’s, Jessie had a few fires to put out with the younger generation of Kincade women. Granted, Jessie had been a little shocked at Frank's behaviour, but had spent the night playing devil’s advocate and defending him anyway.

Frank was a good man, a little sad and lost at times, but a good man nonetheless. Jessie had always thought he was handsome and had admired his devotion to his niece and the recent custody battle between him and his mother only served to solidify Jessie’s belief in him. Jessie had to assume that alcohol must played a big part in his lapse of manners and had suggested that maybe Joey should consider giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Alice had seemed to be more fired up about the incident than Joey had been. Jessie was so pleased to discover that her daughter had not only taken her advice, but after a walk on the beach with Sam, had also surprisingly agreed to go on a little date with Frank.

Not that Joey was actually referring to it as a date. Jessie laughed at her when she refused to use the big, bad “D” word. Instead, for the last 20 minutes since Joey had come home from the beach, she’d been calling it simply ‘grabbing a beer.’ But the colour was back in her daughter’s cheeks, nonetheless, Jessie noticed. Josephine had never been able to hide anything from her mother. Jessie could spot that Joey had a little crush on Frank from a mile away.

Unbeknownst to her daughter, Jessie knew that inviting a woman to his house while Mary was home was not Frank Adler’s style at all. She figured that he must have seen for himself how special her daughter was and, hopefully, was considering a change in his ways. But nonetheless, if he hurt her daughter he’d have herself and Roberta to deal with.

Jessie had to admit that it had been nice to have her only child home and focusing on something other than her new foster son or staring out the window. Whether Joey denied her feelings or not, it was nice to watch her get so worked up over a man for a change. During her adolescence, the shoe had always been on the other foot. More times than not, Joey had been more focused on her friends or schoolwork than on the many lovestruck boys that had showed up knocking on her door.

Jessie wanted Joey to get back on her feet and live a little after Kevin. She hoped that her daughter was considering this a permanent move. She wanted Joey to set down roots here so that she could spoil her new grandson. This “grabbing a beer” with Frank seemed as good a place as any to start. She knew that if anyone could put the pieces of their life back together would be her sweet little Josephine. Her daughter had been so full of life since the day she'd been born. Jessie had the grey hairs under her dye job to prove it. She had every faith that her daughter's depression was going to be short lived.

“Did you know that he lives with his niece? I met her when we were on the beach.” Joey absentmindedly chatted with her mother as she arranged three different outfit choices down on the bed and tried to pick out the least flattering one. After all, this was not a date.

“Mary. Yes, she’s really something else. She’s been in my Girl Scout troop for a few months now.”

“You’re still doing that?” Joey was pleasantly surprised. Her mother had been her Girl Scout leader a lifetime ago. She loved that she'd never given it up, no one made s'mores quite like her mother did.

“Yeah, it’s just me and Bonnie Stevenson. You remember her from high school, right? She’s a teacher now. It’s fun and the girls keep me busy... even though my favorite Girl Scout grew up and went on to green pastures along time ago.” Jessie smiled with pride.

“Well I dunno anything about greener pastures, but those little girls are lucky to have you, Ma.” Joey’s voice held a hint of sadness that made her mother frown. “Do you still have any of my old Girl Scout stuff laying around? Maybe Mary would get a kick out of it?”

“I think so. I’ll take a look. Mary is a good kid. Did you know that she’s gifted? She already taking college classes. Roberta is so proud of her.”

“No shit. Yeah, I really like her. And Fred, too. I can’t believe that Frank has a cat. He doesn’t seem like the type.”

“Good ‘ol one-eyed Fred. They actually have 3 now. There was a mix up with Fred and he was going to be euthanised. Frank got to the shelter just in time and rescued the other two set to be put down as well.”

“Really? He did that?”

“He’s not as gruff as he might seem, my dear. He’s can be a big softy when he wants to be. Have you met Einstein and Bob yet?”

“No, just Fred. Sam went nuts when he saw him.”

Jessie smiled lovingly at her only child and tucked some of her long hair behind her ear. She was so proud of her for taking responsibility for Sam. He was a wonderful child and Jessie loved becoming a grandmother overnight. But more importantly, she loved how much her daughter had grown in the short time since she took on her new role.

The more Jessie thought about it, the more she realized that maybe her daughter and Frank had more in common than met the eye. They both had a special rare quality that refused to allow them look away from a child in need. Or an animal in need, for that matter.

“Well Mary renamed them.” Jessie explained. “Bob went from having the name Chili, to being named after SpongeBob SquarePants. Which is a little hilarious considering he’s the most dignified feline I’ve ever met. The poor cat can’t catch a break.”

As the two women laughed together, they heard the front door open and slam close as Alice’s voice called for them from the living room. Jessie scurried out and ushered her loud niece into the guest bedroom to keep her from waking up her grandson. The poor child had been so tired from all the fresh air he'd gotten playing on the beach, that he'd fallen asleep as soon as his head had hit the pillow.

“Joe! Come on! Seriously? Frank? Frank ‘jackass’ Adler? After that bullshit last night? Don’t fall for his charming sad loner act, sweetie.”

Jessie looked a little guilty. She must have been the one to fill Alice in on Joey’s plans for the evening. Joey, on the other hand, turned as white as a ghost and thought that she was going to be physically sick.

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Joey put her hands up in defense and went into damage control mode. “I met him on the beach. I don’t really know how it happened. He just asked me to grab a beer with the him. Outside. On his porch. Out in the open. As friends,” Joey carefully explained in an attempt to convince not only her cousin but herself as well.

“I would never...I mean... I’m not trying to get in the middle of you guys.” Joey spoke a mile a minute and felt her heart start to pound in her chest. “I was even going to cancel. Wasn’t I, ma? I’m just trying to get her to give me his number,” she added through her teeth at her mother.

Alice tilted her head to the side in confusion and listened to her cousin ramble on. She had no idea what Joey was talking about.

“He’s cute, but...damn it.” Joey stammered. “I’m not gunna lie, I do like him. But, I know that you and him have a thing so he’s off limits. I’m so sorry, Al. I’m a terrible person. I haven’t gotten laid in three months and I think it’s making me stupid.”

“Oh, shut up, Joe.” Alice laughed at how upset Joey was getting. “Frank and I don’t have anything going on, doofus. That ridiculous. We fooled around ages ago! It’s not like he was ever my boyfriend or anything.”

“Really?”

“You couldn’t pay me enough to date that man,” Alice scoffed in disgust. “...sorry no offence!” she added with a loud laugh.

“None taken?... I think?” Joey scrunched up her nose and pretended to act cutely confused. “I’ll make sure and name our first child after you,” she added sarcastically.

The three women shared a laugh and Jessie closed the guest room door so they wouldn’t wake her grandson.

“You were really going to give him up for me?” Alice asked as she pulled her cousin into a hug.

Joey nodded and tried not to cry.

“Oh, Joey! I swear, your whole girl power thing is my favourite thing about you!” Alice laughed and squeezed her tighter.

Alice wished that she was more like Joey. She could count on all of her fingers and toes how many times she had stepped over another woman to get the man she'd wanted.

“You can have Frank 'jackass' Adler if ya want him, I mean it. Three months is a god damn lifetime!” She let her cousin go and smiled. “You can calm down, there’s no girl code violations going on here.”

“Oh.” A big bright smile involuntarily stretched across Joey’s face until she realized how uncool and eager she was being and pressed her lips together. She was so happy, but tried not to show how giddy she felt.

“I just can’t believe that you want him in the first place.” Alice scoffed. “He’s cute, but… look, you just got here and I don’t want to see you get hurt again. Are you a 'no strings attached' kinda girl? Cause that’s usually his style...at least it was. He dated Bonnie Stevenson for about five minutes until he self-destructed.”

“Bonnie? Really?” Joey remembered her vaguely from high school.

Bonnie had been a grade younger and her and they'd run in different circles. But from what Joey remembered about her, she had been sweet and very smart; but she wouldn’t have guessed that Bonnie would have been Frank’s type. This new information just added a new layer to his mystic. Maybe there was even more to him than Joey had thought.

“What do you even see in him in the first place? I mean other than the obvious loner rebel without a cause sexiness.”

“Is it lame to say that I really like his laugh?” Joey knew how odd it sounded, but it was the truth.

“Frank Adler isn’t much of a laughter, sweetie.” Jessie chuckled at her daughter’s honesty. “Well, maybe a little when Mary is around. That little girl always brings out the best in him.”

“But she’s never around.” Alice added. “At least not when Frank is courting ‘the ladies’,” she mocked in a funny deep voice. “He keeps her far away from any of his hook ups. I didn’t even know that she existed until I visited Auntie Jess and saw her playing across the street.”

“I met her already.” Joey informed her cousin. “She’s a really cool kid. Sam really liked her, too.”

That was news to Alice and her mouth hung open for a moment as she considered this new odd information. She could see how hopeful and happy Joey was after getting the green light to hang out with Frank and alarm bells started to go off in her head.

Joey was absolutely glowing. It was as if a whole Christmas tree had been switched on inside her. It would have been a very beautiful sight under different circumstances.

But Alice remembered who Frank was and who he would probably always be and she bunched up her fists in anger.

Instead of being happy for Joey, Alice was furious that Frank fucking Adler had the ability to possibly to hurt her cousin. Joey had had her fair share of short term hookups in her life, but for the most part, bless her heart, she had been more interested relationships than casual sex. That beautiful glowy look on Joey’s face meant that she was bound to catch some feelings for the jackass and Alice only saw this ending one way.

Alice knew Frank’s reputation all too well. It didn’t matter that he had introduced Joey to Mary or not, she still didn’t trust him for a second with her favourite cousin’s heart.

“I’m gunna wring his scruffy, badly tanned neck!” Alice suddenly growled in frustration. “I told him that you were off limits!”

“When?” Joey felt stupid for asking since she already knew the answer. “Oh man, Al, was that before or after you tried to drown him with our margaritas?”

“Before.” Alice sighed. “You were looking all cute, like you always do, and of course you caught his eye and I ...well, I guess, things just went downhill from there. I was just trying to look out for you. I’m sorry I cockblocked you. He totally would’ve broken your dry spell last night if I had kept my mouth shut.”

Jessie smiled to herself. She loved those two girls and took some pride in the fact they didn’t hide anything from her and were able to speak freely with her in the room. She must have done something right raising them. They both were strong willed women with good heads on their shoulders, that also seemed to lose their filter when they were together. She loved it.

“Look, I’m not totally sold on the guy, Alice, but I think he might actually be sorry. We’ve all said some stupid shit when we’ve been drinking...you don’t even wanna know how many guys I’ve drunk dialed over the years!” Joey laughed.

“I hear ya, sister. Just promise me that you won't fall for him after one beer. Frank tends to have a way about him that makes smart women’s panties just mysteriously disappear.”

“Ha! I promise. Cold hearted bitch signing in for duty.” Joey teased through her giggles. “I’ll get around to unpacking my vibrator eventually.”

“You girls crack me up.” Jessie laughed.

“Just stay where I can see you.” Alice ordered with her finger pointed inches away from her cousin’s face. Joey smiled and pretended to gnash her teeth and bite at it. “‘Outside. On his porch. Out in the open.’ Like you said, before. Aunt Jess and I will pop some popcorn and watch the fireworks from the window and make sure you’re okay and don't succumb to his brooding charms.”

“No we won’t.” Jessie interrupted. “I have to week’s worth of my stories to catch up on. Don’t you have anything better to do on a Saturday night than stalk your cousin?”

“Other than watching a week’s worth of General Hospital with my favourite aunt?” Alice beamed and wrapped her arm around her Jessie’s shoulders.

“Oh no, Joe, not that one.” Alice turned her nose up at the shirt that Joey was leaning towards wearing. “The black one. Show off ‘the girls’ a little bit. Frank’s not gunna know what hit ‘em. You’re too good for that boat rat, sweetie. Are you gunna wear the jeans your wearing?”

“Uh huh.”

Alice smiled a big proud smile and pulled Joey into another hug. For a minute there, Joey thought that her cheeky cousin had playfully pinched her bum for good luck. But it wasn’t until she was walking across the street to meet up with Frank, that she noticed that Alice had discretely put a condom in the back pocket of her jeans.

  
\--------------------

Frank had thought that he was all set and ready to go, but then had to change his shirt again when he'd noticed a new hole in his old t-shirt. Luckily, he had another clean one and, after a quick inspection, discovered that it was hole free.

He looked around his small house and tried to tidy up the best he could without waking up Mary. There wasn’t much that he could be done to turn his place into some kind of impressive palace, but he did his best to fake it and make it look like he gave a shit.

There was cat hair everywhere, but there was nothing he could do about it. Mary didn’t have her own room and slept in the corner of the living room. Breaking out the vacuum cleaner wasn’t an option.

Frank wasn’t sure why he was stressing out so much. It was a nice night and the plan was to have a beer outside. Maybe it would have been more romantic and impressive to have her meet him at the marina? But hanging out on someone else’s boat wasn’t what Frank wanted. He couldn’t help it, there was a part of him that was ready to show this girl everything that was real about him and he sure as hell couldn’t afford a boat of his own.

But, on the other hand, Frank wanted Joey to like him. He usually didn’t have much trouble getting women into bed, but this time his objective was a little different. He wanted her to see all of him without any games and then, if she liked what she saw, he'd get her straight into bed.

He wondered if there was anything about the real him that was all that impressive. This would be the first real time that he would get to talk to her alone without Mary or Alice around. What if, after five minutes alone, she saw what a miserable fuck up he was?

Well, at least it would be a short walk a back to her mother's house, Frank mused.

He felt the pressure and kept checking the time. He wondered if she was going to show or if Alice storming over a little while ago had made Joey change her mind. Or maybe the two of them would show up together armed with more margaritas to throw in his face.

He walked around his place and started to fidget in addition to pacing. He kept looking out his window to see if Alice’s car had left and, each time he checked, he got more and more disappointed.

He'd always thought that those Kincade women were something else. Jessie and Alice were both beautiful, but pretty girls were a dime a dozen. What had made Jessie and Alice stand out among the rest was that they were both so smart and full of life. Around town, they were known for both their kindness and their strong will. He remembered how big a trophy hooking up with Alice had been years ago.

Those women had a great reputation for being likeable and funny and Frank always had a good time with both of them. In the short time that he’d known Joey, she seemed to fit the bill as well. What the hell had made him think that he stood a chance with her? Alice was right to try and cockblock him again.

Frank had to keep busy or he was going to end up having a stroke. He tiptoed past Mary and carefully snuck into his room without waking her. He quickly made his bed and started to wonder if he should change the sheets.

Frank shook his head and reminded himself that sex was off the table. He was going to do his best impersonation of a nice guy and do things the right way for a change. A regular celibate knight in shining frustrated armour.

Who the fuck was he kidding? Joey was gorgeous and no one would ever accuse him of being a nice guy. Frank quickly opened the drawer of his nightstand and stuffed a condom into his back pocket. Before he closed the drawer, he hesitated for a moment and reconsidered. He really liked this girl and Mary was still home. What if moving too fast messed everything up? Wasn’t going slow some kind of cardinal rule of new relationships?

Because as cool as Frank pretended to be, a relationship was exactly what he wanted. It was odd for him to feel so ready for one after all these years.

Frank stood there looking at his drawer and weighing his options when he heard a small knock at his front door. Joey had showed up. Alice hadn't scared her off.

His heart started to pound in his chest. He was so excited to see a girl that he had known for about a day. How often had a woman come along that could make him feel so alive? He told himself that he was being a dumbass and grabbed a second condom from his drawer and hoped for the best.


	4. "First Date?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey get to know each other.

The night was warm and the whole street seemed to be quieter than usual. The calmness didn’t fit with the way that Frank’s heart was pounding in his chest.

Frank was humming with excitement and anticipation, but those feelings were short lived as he began to realize that something was suspiciously off in his little neighborhood. It was way too quiet for such a gorgeous night.

It didn’t take him long for his instincts to be proved to correct. He quickly looked around and became annoyed when it dawned on him that him and Joey were probably the night’s entertainment for all of his nosey neighbours.

Frank’s deck wasn’t very private and Roberta wasn’t a subtle matchmaker. He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t noticed that his friend had been meddling while he'd put Mary to sleep.

When Joey had showed up, Frank had escorted her out to his side deck only to find a secret romantic set up had been left there waiting for them. All of his junk had been cleared away and he recognized two, large, outdoor candles burning as Roberta’s and strange a pair of fluffy, patio cushions decorating his lawn chairs.

It must have been a team effort because he had no idea where the cushions came from, but he had to admit that the string of white twinkle lights was a nice touch. News must have traveled fast, since Frank had just invited Joey over to his house only about an hour ago. Roberta hadn't been messing around.

Who knew how many people knew about his “date” with Joey and were currently spying on the two of them. Frank scanned the housing complex, but no one seemed to be milling around like they usually did when it was a nice night. He looked across his yard and caught Mrs. Barber frantically pulling her blinds shut when he caught her watching him through her kitchen window. Great.

It hadn't even dawned on Frank to spruce up his old deck; so, overall, he was thankful for the save, but he was an adult and his neighbours could get a life. They were going to be in for a boring show, though, since, as per Frank’s plan, conversation was all that was on the menu for the night.

Joey seemed a little nervous, but, luckily, she didn’t seem to have any idea that she was potentially the center of attention. Frank hadn't been able to take his eyes off her when she'd shown up, so, as far as he was concerned, she looked the part and he was proud to have her on his arm.

He thought she looked amazing in a laid back casual way, like she had looked before, but he found it an encouraging sign that she had changed her clothes and had put on a little bit of makeup.

Not that she hadn't looked beautiful earlier that night on the beach, but he had noted that she had put in some effort to look a little nicer. He hoped that she had done it to impress him, because it was working like a charm. Her sweet floral perfume was subtle, but whenever Frank caught a small whiff of it, he hoped to hell that he was on a date.

It didn’t take very long for them to find comfortable rhythm with each other, like they had done during their chance encounter on the beach. Joey made it easy when she called him out and busted him for actually bringing up the weather as a lame icebreaker.

“It’s okay. The weather is pretty nice, I’ll give ya that.” She smiled and took a sip of her beer. “I missed these Florida nights.”

“Sorry, not really smooth, huh? Guess you can tell that I don’t entertain very often.”

“No? I guess _‘entertaining’_ at Ferg’s more your speed, huh?”

“Yeah, something like that... I have Mary and all.” he tried to explain as he rubbed his sweaty palms against his thighs.

“Well, consider me very entertained.”

They laughed over their ‘get to know you’ awkwardness and Joey comforted him by telling him her worst first date story.

Years ago, she'd had a huge crush on a co-worker and his idea of a great first date had been to take her to his high school reunion. She'd eagerly accepted, only to have her date’s old high school sweetheart drunkenly confess her undying love for him over the PA system. Unbeknownst to Joey, the feelings had been mutual and two of them had ended up reconnecting and making out in the coat check room. Whereas, Joey had ended up getting high in the parking lot with the school’s football mascot and her date’s old history teacher.

“Seriously? That happened?” Frank couldn’t stop himself from smiling as she told her story, but only laughed out loud when she did.

“How does one even _begin_ to make something like that up? I didn’t know anyone there and he was my ride!”

“How did you get home?”

“Well everyone heard what had gone down, thanks to her announcement. Which, I gotta hand it to her, was extremely ballsy and heartfelt. So kudos to her. I think her name was Helen.”

“To Helen.” Frank smiled and toasted the woman that he had never met.

“Here here!” Joey laughed as they clinked together the necks of their beer bottles. “Well, a group of cheerleaders took me under their wing and made sure that I got home okay. We stopped for donuts and pizza on the way home so it wasn’t all that bad. If they hadn't helped me out I’m sure I’d still be stuck in that parking lot.” she laughed.

“What was the school mascot?”

“The Braverman Beavers.” Joey quickly recalled with a snap of her fingers. “Shit. I can’t believe I remembered that. So trust me, _‘How ‘bout this weather we’re having’_ small talk, is a much better first date then hot boxing a giant beaver head in the middle of nowhere!”

Frank noted that she had called their get together a date and relaxed into his chair and smiled to himself. Joey noticed her slip up, too, but, instead of trying to correct herself or take it back, she played it cool and smiled sweetly back at him.

As Frank mood lightened up his Boston accent started to become thicker as the night progressed. Joey seemed to like it, so he laid it on super thick just to be funny. She had such an honest laugh and he had wanted to hear more of it. It helped that she had a quirky charm about her that was so forgiving of all his awkward, first date jitters. The more comfortable she made him, the more he let go of his nerves.

After they got the weather out of the way, they made a joke of asking each other more cliche, get to know you questions. It was all in good fun, but the notion made Frank’s heart start to beat faster. He wanted to know everything about her, but didn’t want it to sound like he was interviewing her.  
  
The basic question of “So where are you from?”, lead her to list all of the places that she had lived over the years. Frank was not prepared for it to be such a long list. The way that she spoke about her time in Tokyo and Italy made him wish that he could pack up his bags and fly there with her.

Frank had been tied down to one place for years because of Mary. He was admittedly a little jealous of the freedom that Joey had had to move around and see the country and the rest of the world. But he couldn’t help but wonder what he could possibly offer her that was half as exciting as the life that she had lead.

Frank told her about his life in Boston, but omitted anything about his family or his time as a college professor. All of that baggage seemed too heavy unload on a first date, that, and old habits die hard. As much as he wanted to do things differently with Joey, he was used to playing his cards close to the chest and chose to be cautious about what he shared with her.

As it turned out, she had lived in Massachusetts as well for a few short months and the conversation steered towards similar places they had fond memories of and how much they both missed watching the seasons change.

Asking her why she'd decided to become a florist had seemed like an easy enough question, but it had lead to him discovering that she had also been a bartender, a roadie, a yoga instructor, a nanny, a photographer, and had worked at a winery in France for a few months. All jobs that she had found while she was traveling the world during her formative years.

Frank caught a hint of nostalgia in her voice when she talked about her photography and asked why she'd given it up.

“I made some good money, but I was pretty sure that I sucked at it.” she confessed with laughter in her voice. “I’ll stick to flowers, I can always make them look pretty.”

“Naw, I don’t believe that.”

“You sound like my mom. She still has a lot of my old work laying around.”

“Wait a minute. She’s has a bunch of photos in her hallway. I’ve seen them when I pick up Mary.” Joey was already nodding her head and Frank leaned forward and got more animated. “The graffiti wall and the protests. Was that you?”

“Yeah, I just told her yesterday that she should take them down. They don’t exactly fit with her decor.”

“Naw. She’s proud of you. They’re good. They’re really good. I noticed them first thing.”

“Well that's probably because they’re a little bit edgier than all of the pastels and florals she’s got going on. They tend to stand out.”

Frank had all but forgotten about the two condoms in his back pocket and focused on learning more about Josephine Kincade and making her smile.

That was until she would tell a story or a joke and innocently touch his leg or when he'd handed her another beer and their fingers had brushed up against each other’s.

When they'd touched, all he could think of was getting her into bed as quickly as possible. What the hell was it about that girl that could make him feel like a good guy one minute, then toss everything on its head and make him want tell her anything that she wanted to hear just to get her into bed?

He breathed through his temptation and focused on his goal. Frank tried to remind himself that conversation was good enough, for now. Slow and steady. He actually liked talking to her and he wasn’t some horny teenager that couldn’t keep it in his pants.

Frank had watched Joey go from quiet and reserved to open and playful in the span of about 45 minutes. They were finally in a good place and both of their nervousness seemed all but gone.

He was pretty sure that she was having a good time and continued to hold out hope that they were actually on a date. That’s what she had said, right?

They were in the middle of confessing their first impressions of each other, when Frank excused himself from Joey’s good natured teasing to quietly sneak back inside to grab them another round.

“I can assure you, I am _not_ a hipster.” Frank smirked and shook his head. He played along with her teasing and twisted the cap off his third beer.

He took a sip and decide that this was going to be his last one. He was feeling too comfortable with Joey and didn’t want to slip up. Now that he was getting to know her, she just started to look better and better to him, if that was even possible.

Holding out and taking things slow was a good call, he decided. Joey was different, as he had suspected, and waiting would only make things better.

“You’re not?” Joey challenged. She looked cutely unconvinced and took a long pull from her new beer.

“You’re crazy. What about me screams hipster to you?”

“I dunno. Maybe the one eyed cat you take to the beach? On leash no less. Maybe the sad serious, brooding loner thing you’ve got going on? Well, maybe that’s more of a goth or emo thing.”

Frank grinned and raised his eyebrows in agreement. Believe it or not, he was enjoying the teasing. Not too many people knew him well enough to bust his chops. Hanging out with Joey was more fun than he thought it would be. It was like hanging out with a really sexy friend that smelled good and gave him butterflies in his stomach.

“But the floppy hair and the beard?” she continued to playfully prove her point. “The vintage, second hand wardrobe and decor? The old pickup truck with _‘character’_.” Joey giggled and made quotes with her fingers. “All of that sends out some serious hipster vibes. But I think it was that ironic Hawaiian shirt you wore the other night at Ferg’s that really gave it away.”

“Would it be better or worse if I said that it wasn’t meant to be ironic?”

Joey’s giggles were so infectious that Frank couldn’t help but laugh along with her. There was something about her that broke down his defences and made him not care less about how uncool he must have looked to the neighbours that were probably still spying on them.

“You’re such a hipster, I wouldn’t be surprised if you send your dick pics on Polaroid.” she quipped.

Frank spit out his beer and laughed one of those hard laughs where practically no sound came out. His eyes started to water as he doubled over and clutched his chest with both hands. It felt so freeing, like he was having an out of body experience.

“Oh wow. I love it.” he sighed. He tried to calm down, but she was hilarious and he kept laughing like a little kid. He wiped the beer off his chin and couldn’t stop grinning at her. “So you’ve got me all figured out. What about you, huh?”

“Me? Total hipster. Zero shame.” Joey sarcastically teased. “I have more band tees then any person should legally own. It’s a problem.”

“No I mean, what’s you’re story? No bullshit, no cliques. You’ve been all over the world. Why did you end up moving home of all places?” Frank didn’t mean to put her on the spot, it just slipped out.

“Well…”

Joey took a deep breath figured that it was only a matter of time until Frank found out about what had happened between her and her ex-boyfriend and she would rather him hear it first hand from her than from some nosey gossipy friend of her mom’s. But she was dreading it, at this point she really liked him and didn’t want him to think less of her.

“That’s kinda tricky. I guess the cliffnotes version is I got dumped.” Joey explained in a small voice.

She tried to downplay her confession by shrugging and focusing on taking another sip from her beer instead of meeting his gaze. She was scared to look at him, she couldn’t stand it if he started to pity her.

The smile slowly vanished from Frank’s face and he swallowed hard. He was fairly certain that his question had just ruined their evening. He cursed himself for making her feel so uncomfortable. He really did suck at this whole dating thing. No wonder he had been single for so long.

“I’m sorry...I didn’t know.”  
  
“No, it’s okay.”

Joey smiled and patted Frank’s leg and tried to reassure him that everything was fine when his posture changed and became more sad and withdrawn. Her impulse to comfort a man that she had known for a day was so strong, she almost didn’t trust it.

She was overwhelmed when an excited warm feeling flowed through her when she touched him. She quickly took her hand away and reminded herself that she'd promised Alice that she wouldn’t fall for him too fast. But seeing Frank upset bothered her a lot more than she thought it should.

Joey decided, as well, that her third beer was going to be her last. She was an epic lightweight and got too flirty when she was drinking with someone that she was attracted to. And boy was she ever attracted to Frank. Talking to him was so easy, she was enjoying his grumpy charm and it felt like she had known him for years.

“You don’t have to talk about it, Joey. It’s none of my business. I was just curious…” Frank tried to backpedal.

“It’s okay. Well, getting dumped isn’t okay. I just mean I’m okay. I’ve been dumped before, I know the drill. The world keeps spinning.” Joey chuckled and tried to get him to smile again.

“Who the hell dumps you?” Frank said, more as a statement than a question.

“Maybe he hated my photography?” she slyly joked.

Joey blushed and took another sip of her beer and Frank wondered if he had messed by coming on too strong. But he felt no shame because in his heart it wasn’t a line. He couldn’t imagine any man letting her go.

“Well, I was dating this guy, Kevin, and it’s not like he was the love of my life or anything. But we lived together for maybe six months. I was starting to settle down and stay in one place. And well, Sam and I woke up one morning and he was just gone.”

“Just like that?”

Frank’s eyebrows shot up when Joey slowly nodded her head.

“Wow. Is he Sam’s father?” he cautiously asked.

“He is indeed Sam’s dad. But get this, I am _not_ Sam’s mother. I mean I kinda am now. I’m his foster mother. But Kevin and I had just found out that Sam existed about 3 months ago. Kevin’s ex-wife just showed up one day with all his stuff and said _‘here’s your kid, I’m out.’”_  
  
“Wait. So he took off, too, and now you’re raising his kid?”

“Yup. I couldn’t find him or his ex-wife anywhere. No one has heard from either one of them. I even tried to file a missing person’s report. But all of Kevin’s stuff was gone, so the consensus was that he bailed of his own accord. So after I became Sam’s foster mother, my mom thought that moving home was a good idea, and here we are.”

Frank didn’t know what to say. He wondered what he would do if he was in that situation. But then it dawned on him that he sorta had been in that situation with Diane and Mary. Only in his case, he was at least Mary’s biological uncle and he, unfortunately, knew where Diane was.

“I just don’t want that to always be the most interesting thing about me, you know? Poor little Josephine got dumped by a guy and had to crawl home to her mother a devastated mess. So fucking basic.”

Frank watched her play with the label on her beer bottle as she gathered her thoughts. He was suddenly thankful for Roberta’s citronella candles; Joey’s features only became more beautiful bathed in their glow.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her lips. The thought of people pitying her made her sad and he fought the urge to kiss her. He wondered what her full lips would taste like and how soft they would feel against his. Frank was starting to discover that Joey was a lot of things, but basic was definitely not one of them.

“I mean I get it.” she continued. “I understand why everyone's so concerned about me and why they’re all going out of their way to take me out on girl’s nights and why they’re sneaking around and decorating your deck.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Frank dryly stated. “Can’t a hipster guy have a few citronella candles and throw pillows? Besides, aren’t twinkle lights a hipster staple?”

Joey gave him a wink and sweet knowing smile until he puffed out a laugh and took another pull from his beer. He was busted, but loved that she was clever enough to know figure out what was going on.

“It’s my fault. I’ve been mopey and sad since I got here, but it’s not for the reason’s that they think. Kevin was a jerk, but newsflash, I sorta knew that before he left me. I mean, I liked him and all and we had a lot of fun together - I’m sorry. Is this weird? I shouldn’t be talking so much about my ex.”

“No no. It’s okay. He was a jerk. That’s the most important fact to take away from everything. Continue.” Frank teased and warmly reassured her to go on.

“He wasn’t the greatest guy, _obviously._ ” Joey chuckled. “But I always felt like I was playing house with him. Like our life together wasn’t completely real. I guess I was waiting for that moment that people talk about. That big epic _‘falling in love’_ moment that all the love songs are about.”

Frank puff out a small amused laugh but she continued despite his cynicism.

“You know what I mean. I was waiting for that moment when it hits you and you know that you don’t just like the person you’re with. That moment when you realize it’s more than just sex.”

Frank nodded his head in agreement, but it was a lie. He’s not sure if he’s ever had the kind of moment that Joey was talking about.

“Kevin and I were comfortable and I guess I was in deep ‘like’ with him, but I don’t think I’ve even cried about him dumping me. I just kinda felt numb. Like maybe it was inevitable and he had just beaten me to the punch. It sucks that everyone thinks he broke me or something.”

“Why are you so sad then? If it’s not about Craig?”

“Kevin.” she corrected him.

“I know, but fuck that guy.”

Joey laughed and Frank felt a swell of pride. Making her happy, even just for a moment, felt so satisfying. It was a relief to know that he wouldn’t be a rebound, but, in all honesty, at that point, he’d still want her even if he was.

“It’s easier for my mom and Roberta...and even Alice to think that I’m just hung up on a guy. Especially my mom. It’s easier for her to understand than the truth.”

Joey held Frank’s undivided attention, he hung onto every single word. The concern that he felt for her was surprising and he held his breath and waited for her to elaborate. But if she didn’t explain herself soon he was about to lean over and kiss her. He wanted to comfort her in a way that was hard to explain.

He resisted his impulses because having her open up to him like that was thrilling for some reason. Women (rightfully) didn’t usually trust him. But he had to kiss her soon and wasn’t sure how long he could wait.

“It’s just that...the truth is, a few months ago, I didn’t know if I even wanted kids. But my mom doesn’t know that. I’m a grown woman and she thinks that I’ve always wanted what most women my age want.”

“Which is?” Frank interrupted with a cheeky raised eyebrow. “Please Joe, help a guy out. That’s the time honored question, isn’t it? What is it that most women want?”

“Usually it’s a big shiny rock on their finger, a white picket fence, a dog, and 2.5 kids running around.”

“Not you?”

“I didn’t think so, but look at me now. I’m a mom. A _single_ mom at that. I really love that kid. Like hardcore love him. I might not have loved his dad, but I sure as hell love him. But Sam fell into my lap and I had no time to prepare or really adjust. I’ve been low key freaking out for weeks, I just don’t want to mess him up, you know? There’s so much riding on me not fucking him up and ruining his life. I feel like I’m taking a really important test that I didn’t study for.”

“I know that feeling.” Frank clenched his jaw and solemnly spoke down to the beer bottle in his hands.

Frank had doubted his ability to be a good parent to Mary for years and could relate. Before Diane had taken her own life, he hadn't been sure if he'd wanted kids either. But, over time, he’d adjusted and now he couldn’t imagine his life without his niece.

“You guys looked so natural on the beach,” Frank pointed out. “I never would have guessed that he wasn’t yours. I assumed you were his mother right away. What made you keep him? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“Grilled Cheese.” Joey smirked and raised her eyebrow the same cute way that Frank had done earlier.

“Excuse me?” A big curious smile stretched across Frank’s face. He was pretty sure that he had heard her correctly and he had also noted that he couldn’t remember the last time his face hurt from laughing and smiling so much.

Joey giggled at the amused yet confused look on Frank's face and brought her beer bottle back to her lips. He watched her eyes sparkle as she re lived the pleasant memory in her head.

His eyes shared a similar twinkle as he held her happy gaze. She looked back into his blue eyes as she took her sip and was so thankful that she had Alice’s blessing because she couldn’t wait to feel Frank’s hands on her.

“The day after Kevin _or Craig_ , whatever the jerk’s name was, left me... well left us. I was a mess. I knew what it must have meant for me, and more importantly, what it meant for Sam and I really didn’t know what I was going to do. I was sorta freaking out. Well, Sam must have picked up on how stressed out I was.”

“Kids pick up on _everything_.” Frank added and shook his head in disbelief. There was nothing he could get passed Mary, gifted or not, she was like a little pint sized detective.

“No shit. They really do!” Joey smiled big and nodded her head. It was nice to talk to someone that understood. “Well, I gave him some toys to play with and I hid out in the bathroom and made some calls. I was still trying to find the asshole and figure out what my options were where it came to Sam. And well, a little while later, I heard a little knock on the door and it was him.”

Frank knew that he must have a stupid smile plastered all over his face as he listened to Joey to speak, but he couldn’t help it. She lit up when she talked about Sam. It was beautiful. He believed her completely when she said that she loved that kid.

She was so much more than just a good looking girl. He was such a gonner. Frank hadn’t been sure whether to run for dear life or lean into how she was making him feel. Both options were very tempting. He couldn’t help but feel like he was on the verge something very real as he listening to her open up to him. The trust felt intimate and he liked it.

“Well he looked up at me, took my hand and led me to the coffee table and he had two _‘grill cheese samwiches’_ set up on his little disney plates waiting for me.”

“I call bullshit. He made you grilled cheese? He’s three and barely taller than my knees!” Frank laughed.

“Of course he didn’t! They were just cheese slices between two slices of bread. He didn’t even take the plastic off the cheese slices!”

The two of them shared a laugh over the cuteness of the child until Joey got a little bit more serious and let out a deep sigh.

“Well... I sat down and looked at him and the little spread that he set out for me and I realized that he was a person.”

She tucked her hair behind her ears and rubbed her lips together as she considered her words. Frank sensed her changed mood and stopped laughing and gave her time to collect her thoughts and finish.

“It was such a simple concept that seemed to hit me all at once. He was a small little human _person_. And that little person was really trying to make me happy. He wasn’t a pet or a burden that needed to be passed off. He needed someone to care about him, too. To truly care and put him first and why couldn’t that person be me? Sam has such a good little heart and I don’t want to see that get trampled on in the system.”

“I get that.”

“Maybe it sounds silly, but I couldn’t help but feel like maybe he came into my life for a reason. I mean, what if no one else saw him the way I did? What if no one else saw how special he was and overlooked him? I couldn’t let that happen, that would kill me. I’ll admit, I really have no idea what I’m doing half the time.” Joey confessed. “But he deserves a lot more than the shitty hand he was dealt, and if I can make his life just a little bit better...then it was worth a shot. I’m just worried that I don’t have what it takes.”

“He sounds like a great kid.” Frank wanted to add that she sounded like a great mother but held back his praise. He didn’t want it to sound like a cheap pick up line.

“Besides, he’s the only man that’s ever cooked for me.” Joey teased and tried to smile away the hard lump forming in her throat. It felt good to actually say the words out loud and express how she’d been feeling, but in the back of her head, she hoped that Frank didn’t think she was nuts.

“Why can’t you tell your mom all this? Why let her think that what’s-his-name broke your heart?”

“What? Tell her that only daughter is worried she’ll be a shitty mom? I can already hear the pep talk she’d give me after she blames herself for not setting a better example for me and apologizes _again_ for having me so young. I’ll figure it out, eventually. In the meantime, I don’t want to disappoint her. She’s done so much for me and she’s loving the whole grandmother thing.”

“I’m no expert, but I think it’s the good parents that actually worry about fucking their kids up. The shitty parents never think twice about it.”

“That kinda makes sense. How long have you been raising your niece?” Joey wanted to change the subject and find out more about him. She felt like she had been talking about herself for too long.

“Since Mary was a baby. She was a few months old when my sister passed away.”

“Oh, Frank, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“No, it’s okay.” Frank rubbed the back of his neck. Joey sounded sincere but he hated getting condolences. “I almost gave Mary to the state so many times…”

“But you didn’t…”

Joey was starting to see what her mother saw in him. Frank was a good man whether he’d ever admit it or not. The image that she had had of him being the jackass that her cousin had thrown her margaritas at had been replaced by the thoughtful sexy man that was sitting beside her. It was easy to see that Mary was his heart.

“Naw. But I wanted to so many times. I didn’t get a grilled cheese out of it or anything… but I just couldn’t go through with. I’m glad I kept her, but I get what you mean about not being prepared. Things were so fucking hard back then.”

“I bet. At least Sam is potty trained.”

Frank puffed out a small laugh and it made Joey smile again. That laugh of his was quickly becoming an addiction for her. Their eyes met and that pull was back, only, this time, it felt ten times stronger. Joey wasn’t nearly as drunk as she had been that night at Ferg’s. There was no way that she could blame the alcohol this time. The way he looked at her felt almost electric.

Frank felt it, too. He looked into her eyes and was drawn to her in a way that was all consuming. He didn’t look away and found that she was having the same effect on him that she had that night at Ferg’s. Only this time, he was encouraging it and letting it happen.

Those blue eyes of hers managed to, yet again, strip away all of his bullshit and really saw him. He stopped resisting and wondered if he was making her feel the same way.

Frank was so lost in the way that Joey was looking back at him that his beer bottle slipped out of his hand and landed on the deck. The sound caused a neighbourhood dog to bark somewhere in the distance, but neither of them seemed to notice and continued to look into each other’s eyes.

Joey’s heart was pounding in her chest as she looked at back Frank. It was impossible to know how long they were looking at each other like that. The energy between them was powerful and felt almost tangible. It made her feel so vulnerable and raw, but also made her feel more alive than she had felt in a very long time.

What the hell was happening? Who the hell was this guy and how was he able to make her feel this way? And why was she eye fucking him back and not turning away? She was not playing this cool in the slightest, she couldn’t remember being so transfixed by a man before.

“Do you feel that?” Frank’s voice was so small she barely heard him.

“Yeah. It’s getting chilly.” Joey lied. She knew that he was referring to the moment that they both shared, but wasn’t brave enough to address it. “I probably should be getting back to my mom’s.”

“Yeah, umm.” Frank was still trying to recover from what he was feeling and he couldn’t find the right words, that, or he was rusty at common dating pleasantries. Both were probably true. He almost felt dizzy and regretted not having kissed her already.

Joey stood up and Frank followed suit. The awkward first date jitters were back for both of them and they had a hard time looking at each other. The night was hot as hell and they both knew it. Frank figured that he must have scared her away and creeped her out by gawking at her.

“Best of luck with Sam. I know it’s hard, but you’ll find your own way and eventually it’ll become a new normal for you. At least that was the way it was for me.”

Joey smiled politely and nodded her head. She was about to leave, but Frank couldn’t stop talking.

“Look, I am really sorry about Ferg’s…I don’t wanna be that guy.” Frank nervously rubbed the back of his neck and hoped that he wasn’t coming across as too desperate. She had already accepted his apology, but he was trying to think of something to say to keep her there longer.

“It’s okay. I mean it, we’re good. To tell you the truth, Alice was a lot madder than I was.” Joey gave him a sweet smile and stared at his lips and wondered what his beard would feel like against her skin.

Joey meant what she said, but of course she was still leery about him. But, in all fairness, she was leery about men in general at this point. But she was more than willing to give Frank a second chance because after their evening, her gut told her that there was more to him than meets the eye.

Or maybe it was a part of her anatomy a little lower than her gut that was talking to her and trying to get her laid? Either way, she wasn’t ready to write Frank Adler off yet, not by a long shot.

“You’re not that guy, Frank. At least, I don’t think you are…”

Frank gave her a boyish smirk that made the air catch in her throat and made her consider breaking out the condom her cousin had snuck into her back pocket. He couldn’t have been hotter playing the role of the charming modest shy guy. Alice was right. He had a way of making smart women’s panties disappear.

“….have a goodnight, Frank. Thanks for the beer.” Joey knew she had to get out of there as soon as possible. She was itching to make a move on Frank, but knew that if they started something it would almost impossible for her to stop. Plan B was going home and figuring out which one of her unpacked boxes had her vibrator stored away.

She wondered if he was going to, at the very least, kiss her goodbye. That much she figured she could handle. Joey and looked up at him and leaned towards him slightly, but was devastated when he hesitated and held back. Joey was embarrassed quickly turned on her heel to leave but felt him reach out and grab her arm.

“Wait! Umm.” Frank quickly let go of her arm and tried think on his feet, he really didn’t want to say goodbye to her yet and had just realized that he had stupidly missed his opportunity to kiss her goodnight. “Can I walk you home?”

“Across the street?”

“Yeah.” he nervously chuckled. “Isn’t that the gentlemanly thing to do?”

“It is. But I think I can manage. Thank you.”

Joey really didn’t want to leave either, but she realized that she had just successfully painted herself into a very polite corner and had to follow through with ending their date that probably was never a date in the first place since Frank didn’t even want to give her a standard goodnight kiss.

She told herself that it probably was for the best and smiled at Frank one last time before she stepped off his deck and made her way back home.

Joey was feeling sorry for herself and as she walked across Frank’s front lawn until she heard his footsteps coming up quickly behind her.

“Joey, wait! I forgot something.” Frank called out to her back.

Joey’s heart started to beat faster and she licked her lips before she turned around. She had forgotten something too and figured that it was now or never.

Joey doubled back across his lawn and bravely closed the distance between them. She wasn’t sure what had come over her when she impulsively reached up to Frank and pulled his face down to hers and kissed him hard. He was shocked for only a second before he kissed her back.

After studying her lips for the past hour and half, Frank finally got to taste them. He held her face with both hands and tried to pace himself, but fuck did that girl ever know how to kiss.

His intention of giving her a nice sweet goodnight kiss and planning a second date, had turned into a full makeout session on his front lawn. Joey was a force of nature and was not backing down in the slightest. Her hands were everywhere as she pulled his body closer to her. Frank loved every second of it and just tried to keep up with her. She was amazing and had quickly put to rest any doubts he had about being friend zoned.

His heart was racing and he couldn’t care less who might be watching them as she leaned in and pressed her body flush against his. Frank instinctually grabbed her ass hard and pulled her even closer to him. He hadn’t even realized he had done it until she moaned into his mouth. She seemed to like it so he did it again, only that time, deliberately.

Joey was more than making up for him chickening out moments before as she flicked her tongue across the corner of his mouth. He was trying not to get hard, but it was difficult not to get swept away, she tasted better than he ever could have imagined.

 _“Shit!”_ she breathlessly cursed against his lips as she tried to catch her breath and remember where she was. She was right about those hands of his, they made her ache in all the right places. She was also right about not being able to stop if she made a move on him.

“I would’ve gone with _‘wow’_ ,” Frank smirked and started leave a trail of small kisses down the inside of her neck. He couldn’t believe that she was letting him kiss her like that. He felt like he had just won the lottery.

“Definately wow.” Joey panted as she carded her fingers through his hair and encouraged him to continue kissing her neck. The scratch of his beard was divine and was making her wet. Her whole body was responding to him, and she loved it. “I’m just homeless at the moment, I still haven’t found my own place. So we’re kinda stuck, unless you wanna make out in your truck like a couple of teenagers.”

“To be honest, that’s exactly what I feel like right now. You’re amazing, you know that? Did you want this to be more than just a goodnight kiss?” Frank asked against her neck. He sounded so happily out of breath, he almost didn’t recognize his own voice.

“Do you?” Damn, she wasn’t sure what she was enjoying more, his hands or his lips. He knew how to use both so well. He smelled so good and the warmth of his solid body was making her mind go all fuzzy. All she knew for sure was that she hungry for him and wanted more.

“It’s your call, Joey. We could...we could go inside if you want. And for the record, I’m really hoping that you want to.”

She kissed his neck and flicked her tongue against his skin as her hands found their way under his t-shirt. She ran her nails softly down his back and felt her confidence increase as she watched him respond to her.

Her attention sent a delicious chill up his spine, but instead of moaning out loud like he wanted, Frank crushed his lips against hers. She tasted amazing and couldn’t seem to get his fill of her.

He really hoped that she didn’t want the night to end because with the way that Joey was making him feel, Frank regretted only grabbing two condoms from his nightstand.

\--------------------


	5. "The Three Date Rule"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey spend the night together.

Frank couldn’t get over how perfectly Joey’s hand fit into his as they quietly tiptoed through his kitchen and into his living room. It was as if any touch from her, no matter how benign, excited him and fuelled his desire for her. He’d never felt so focused yet light headed at the same time in his whole life. He couldn’t wait to get Joey into his bedroom.

Frank knew that he breaking all of his rules and was playing with fire, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted Joey more than he’d wanted any woman in a long time. He wasn’t lying when he had told her that she made him feel like a teenager again.

He had gave up so much of his life to raise Mary and he wanted to be selfish for once and take what he wanted. Girls like Joey just don’t grow on trees. Frank still couldn’t believe that he had a shot with her and he had every intention of taking it.

He had already bargained with himself and was convinced that they would be quiet enough not to wake his sleeping niece. Then, after he quietly rocked Joey’s world, Frank would walk her home and make a second date with her before Mary woke up for her Girl Scout meet up in the morning. Easy peasy.

Joey was just as excited as Frank was, but stopped in her tracks and covered her mouth with her free hand when she saw Mary and Fred sleeping soundly in the corner of Frank’s small living room.

She couldn’t wait to tear Frank’s clothes off and end her dry three month spell, but, as horny as she was, she still wanted to be responsible.

“Are you sure that this okay?” she whispered.

Frank didn’t answer her, but, instead, pulled Joey into his room and quickly shut the door behind them before Einstein and Bob could follow them in and claim their spot on his bed for the night. Tonight, their spot was going to occupied.

“Mary sleeps like a rock.” he whispered before he kissed her quickly again. “Once she slept through Roberta’s smoke detector.”

“Oh my god, was there was a fire?” Joey asked with concern while Frank kissed down her neck.

“Naw. Roberta was making cookies in the middle of the damn night.”

Frank made his way back to Joey’s lips in time to feel her giggle against his mouth and Frank chuckled along with her.

He felt like a different person with her and wanted to stay that person for a long as possible. For some reason, the longer he was with her, the more he could ignore the self doubt that had plagued him for years. It never occurred to him that, one day, he could start to feel free from all of his past mistakes. It felt damn near close to euphoric.

Silencing the inner voice of his that had always told him that he wasn’t good enough was a lot easier when he was around Joey. In fact, for the first time since he could remember, he was beginning to genuinely like himself.

Peace of mind felt just a shadow away when she was near him. Happiness was so close, he could almost touch it. He couldn’t remember a time when it had felt so attainable before Joey. He couldn’t explain it, but he never wanted it to end.

“Are you still game? Just say the word, Joey, and I’ll walk you home and take a very, _very_ cold shower.”

Frank’s voice was like smooth velvet and the hungry way that he was looking down at her through his long lashes made Joey’s knees go weak. He was being considerate in the sexiest possible way and wanted to be sure that she was still on board with spending the night with him. His sweet thoughtfulness just turned her on even more.

In all honesty, every second that Joey spent with Frank made her want him and more and more. And judging by the way that Frank couldn’t stop squeezing her ass as he waited for her answer, clearly proved that he wanted her as badly as she wanted him. That knowledge made her heart sing. If she could get away with squealing and doing a little victory dance, without looking like a loser, Joey would have been celebrating how lucky and excited she felt.

Instead of answering him, Joey bravely pulled her shirt off in one fluid motion and tossed it on the ground. She was grateful that she had one of her fancier black lace bras on because she could have sworn that Frank stopped breathing as he took in the sight of her half naked body.

After being dumped, it was incredibly satisfying to Joey to be appreciated by the opposite sex again. She stood there and tried as hard as she could to look sexy in effortlessly way, the irony of her predicament was not lost on her.

It took Frank a second to overcome his shock and realize that he was allowed to touch her and that she actually was expecting him to. Joey was stunning and despite his earlier best efforts he was already hard. He loved her boldness and pulled her face towards him and kissed her lips hard. Maybe a little too hard. He was hungry for her and their teeth clashed as their kiss deepened and became more passionate. Frank took the opportunity to walk her backwards towards his bed as they continued to kiss and find their rhythm.

Joey felt his mattress against the back of her legs and she took Frank’s hand and brought it to her breast. He grabbed her hard over her bra as she sucked on his tongue and he explored her body. She loved the way that he tasted and wanted to moan but had to remind herself that she needed to be quiet.

Frank could sense her dilemma and when he realized that he was successfully turning her on, he broke all of his rules (again) and let out a loud involuntary groan from the back of his throat. Without missing a beat, Joey deepened their kiss in hopes to muffle his reaction. He was thankful for the save and mused how perfectly insync they were.

With the way that her blood was singing in her veins, Joey wasn’t completely sure how quiet she could stay either, so she followed his example and had him swallow her soft moans as well. She couldn't help it, experiencing Frank’s skillful hands on her body was making her ache for him in a way that she hadn’t felt in a long time, even before Kevin.

Frank was different than most of the men she’d been with in the past. They weren’t even naked yet, but she could already bet that he liked it rough and she started to love it. But as strong and dominate as he was, she felt safe with him and, ultimately, she knew for sure that she was the one in control.

Joey was fully enjoying his brand of foreplay and it didn’t take her long to catch on to Frank Adler’s style. He would grope with his strong hands then gauge her reaction and then make his next move accordingly.

With the way that he was reading her cues, she instinctively knew that he would never hurt her. He seemed to be tentatively testing her limits to learn how for himself where her limits lay and then respected her boundaries.

Joey found his thoughtfulness hot as hell and, the more pleased Frank appeared to be with her, the more Joey wanted to please him. She felt like she was getting swept away and loved every single second of his passionate attention. She didn’t care that she had just met the man because everything that was happening between them felt so right.

They were so well matched as they kissed and pressed their bodies against each other, it was as if they were challenging and encouraging each other at the same time. Frank seemed to liked it when she met his rough overtures with ones of her own. He might be dominate, but by no means did he want her to be submissive either.

Joey wasn’t sure when an opportunity like this would ever come up again and was seizing the moment. Her heart was pounding in her chest as if she were in the middle of a spin class; she hadn’t felt so alive in a long time.

Frank made her feel so sexy and wanted; he was just what she needed after her unfortunate few months. His passionate attention made her so wet and she needed to get her jeans off as soon as possible. His too, for that matter.

Frank expertly guided her down onto his mattress as he kissed down her neck and shoulders. Joey was so happy that she had decided to give him another chance. She was aching for him to touch her everywhere. He was so attentive as he explored her body with his hands and his lips. That beard of his was turning her on in the best possible way.

Frank attempted to go through the usual motions that he went through when he was trying to get laid and impress his partner, but Joey was proving herself to be different in every single possible way. The way that she responded to him kept him from going on autopilot and building that wall that he was so familiar with building when it came to other women. It was exhilarating to feel so raw and open in such an intimate way and be completely in the moment with another human being.

It hit him that he didn’t feel alone anymore. Frank tried to think about something else as he kissed her neck, but he couldn’t stop himself from getting choked up with emotion as he looked down at her.

Even in the darkness of his bedroom, Frank could still see how big and blue Joey’s eyes were. It didn’t matter how dark the room was, those eyes of hers found his and seemed to glow back at him.

Frank looked down at Joey on his bed, with her dark hair fanned out over his comforter, and her beauty made his chest ache. He was still horny as hell and wanted to fulfill his need, but was unprepared for what he was starting to feel.

Mixed with his own carnal desire was the need to make her happy and it came from such an honest part of his heart. He had made many women come before, so he wasn’t worried about making her happy in a physical way, but was more worried that, ultimately, moving so fast wouldn’t make her happy in the long run. He was almost unfamiliar with all of the emotion that was feeling as he looked down at her and wasn’t sure exactly what his problem was.

She was giving herself to him so willingly and he wanted nothing more than to selfishly take what she was offering. He had to shake it off and man up.

“You’re so beautiful, you know that?” he whispered down to her to break the silence.

“I was about to say the same thing to you, Frank.”

Frank puffed out a soft laugh as he looked down into her eyes. The lust and adoration that he found there turned him on in such a powerful way. He had seen that same look in the eyes of other women before, but this time it was different.

It dawned on Frank that Joey was looking at the real him. Not some more palatable version on him that he faked to get him laid. She wanted the real him and he remembered that that had been his goal from the beginning.

He was not prepared for how that kind of intimacy and how would make him feel. He felt a pang of shame wash over him and tried to silence the feeling by kissing her again. But even as they revved up again and started to pant and moan softly, that feeling of shame wouldn’t go away.

Frank’s heart was beating so fast, he was sure that she could feel it through his chest, but he knew that what they were doing was wrong.

Joey’s feminine and sweet perfume was so intoxicating. The smell was both tempting him and breaking his resolve at the same time. The more he enjoyed her scent the more it reminded him of his original goal.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t the plan. Frank didn’t want to screw this up like he had countless times before.

The pull between them was so strong between them that Frank wasn’t quite sure where he found the strength to stop when she reached for the button on his jeans.

“Stop. I’m so sorry, Joey. You gotta stop.” Frank abruptly sat up and ran his hand down his face. “I can’t do this.”

Joey blinked up at the ceiling until his words made sense to her. When she understood that she had been rejected, she slowly exhaled all of the air from her lungs and tried not to show how embarrassed and stupid she felt.

The pain in her chest hurt so bad that, for a second, she wondered if this was Frank’s sick payback for Alice throwing their margaritas at him. A voice from deep down in her heart told her that there was no way he could be that cruel.

It was more plausible that he simply didn’t want her and was repulsed with her somehow. Frank must have had his fair share of women in his day and she must not have met his standard. Everything that she thought that they were both feeling, only moments ago, must have been one sided. She felt to stupid.

Joey hated that she had immediately gone to such a self loathing place, but she suspected that she had must have somehow repelled Frank in the same way that she must have repelled Kevin. She should be used to being rejected at this point, but Frank not wanting her stung.

Without saying a word, she rolled off Frank’s bed and tried to cover herself with her arms while she searched the floor for her shirt and, possibility, a shred of her dignity.

“I’m sorry.” Frank said to the wall. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her, he shouldn’t have let things get so far. He felt so stupid for believing that he could be a good guy for once, all he ended up doing was embarrassing himself.

“You apologized already.” Joey tried to sound pleasant but her voice didn’t sound like hers.

She tried to clear her throat, but felt like she had been punched in the gut. All she could do was focus on one thing at a time or she’d start to cry, but she couldn’t seem to find her stupid shirt anywhere in his dark bedroom.

The longer she searched, the more her her whole body started to shake. Frank seemed to sense her confusion and kindly turned on his bedside lamp before she completely freaked out. Her ego had took a major hit and couldn’t wait to cover up and get the hell out of there.

“Thanks.” she mumbled as she scanned the room. She was flustered and tried to hide the fact that her hands were shaking, this was so humiliating.

Frank noticed that she was making a concerted effort not to look directly at him and he felt terrible. He found her shirt before she did and got up off the bed and handled it to her while he polity averted his eyes.

“Can I still walk you home? Is there any way that I could take you out sometime? Like on a real date?”

“Um, I’m just confused. I thought you...I thought you didn’t want…” Joey tried not to finish her though and say ‘I thought you didn’t me?’ because she was afraid that if she said the words out loud she would start to cry. Joey stammered and tried to find better words as she put her shirt back on. “I’m so sorry if I pressured you into doing something that you didn’t want to do...that was never my intention.”

Joey had heard similar words coming from men before in the past, but never thought that she’d be the one saying them to a man that she wanted to sleep with.

Frank ran both of his hands down his face and let out a frustrated groan. He mumbled something that sounded like “No that’s not it,” into his hands. Then it dawned on her that maybe he had wanted to have sex with her, but that maybe he wasn’t physically able to fulfill his urges.

“It’s okay, Frank. I mean. If you have an issue, or something...I mean, like, if you can’t _medically._ I wouldn’t think any less of you. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, a lot of men can’t...”

Frank caught on to what she was implying and groaned again, this time a lot louder, from inside his hands. He vigorously rubbed his face and wished that ground would swallow him whole.

Joey stood there completely confused and decided that she should just cut her losses and swear off men for awhile. Nothing made sense to her anymore and she obviously wasn’t making the best decisions. Maybe she had read every single one of Frank’s signals wrong and he just wasn’t that into her afterall.

She was mom now, she shouldn’t be finding herself in these kinds of situations anymore. What the hell was she thinking?

“It’s fine. I’m sure I just came on too strong and I spoiled the mood. I get it. Don’t feel bad.” She wasn’t sure why she was trying to make him feel better when she was the one on the verge of tears, but there was something about seeing Frank upset that bothered her more than it ought to. “You’re not saying anything and I’m rambling. Sooo, I’ll just see myself out. No hard feelings.” Joey winced at her poor choice of words. “Sorry! I didn’t mean it like that... _shit!_ ”

 _“Wait!”_ he loudly whispered before she reached for the door.

Frank couldn’t find the right words to fix what he had done to ruin their moment, so he quickly reached out and took her face in his hands and kissed her softly. It seemed like a good idea since words (or lack thereof) had caused so much confusion in the first place. He kissed her gently and in the back of his head he hoped that it wouldn't be the last time he had the opportunity to do so.

Joey didn’t fight him. In fact, after she got over her surprise, she kissed him back with just as much tenderness. He loved how she could skillfully expressed her passion for him, and had to make a concerted effort to ignore the primal impulses that she was unleashing inside him, yet again. But kissing Joey was different and for the life of him he still couldn’t explain how.

Frank brushed his tongue across her bottom lip and groaned softly when she granted him access to her mouth and parted her soft full lips. He slipped his tongue past her lips and her caressed his tongue along hers while at the same time, took her hand and brought it to the front of his jeans.

“I can.” he whispered darkly against her wet lips. “I can, Joey. This is how hard you make me.”

Joey gently traced the outline of his rather large erection through his jeans with her fingertips and watched Frank groan softly and close his eyes.

She licked her lips wanting to do a lot more than just lightly trace, but she was hesitant. It was nice to know that she had turned him on, but she had been getting so many mixed signals that she had no idea what was going on.

She bravely looked him in the eye as she tentatively touched and explored his cock and felt warm his breath against her face. She was ready to stop if he wanted her to, but she hoped that he wouldn’t pull away again, she was aching for him again in the worst way.

Instead of stopping her, his eyes glazed over in dark lust. Without saying a word, he took her hand and pressed it more firmly against his aching length and slowly ran both of their hands up and down over his jeans. Encouraging her to feel all of him.

“Do you want me, Frank?” After everything, Joey was almost scared to hear his answer.

Their lips were close, but not touching as Frank continued to move her hand up and down against him. Having her so close and touching him like that felt way too good and he stopped himself when he got carried away and started to move her hand even faster.

He sighed in defeat and pressed his forehead against hers and reluctantly took his hand away from hers. She smelled so good and, judging by the fact that she hadn’t taken her hand off his cock, she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her.

What the fuck was he doing? He decided that being honest with her was worth a shot.

“I want you, Joey.” he confessed as he rested his hands on her hips and enjoyed her touch. “I obviously really, really want you. But I think it would be best if we waited. I know it sounds really lame, but I thought I’d try and do the things the right way for once. Maybe go slow so that we’d have a chance to become an ‘us’...But I don’t even know if you even want us to be an ‘us’ in the first place.”

Joey puffed out a small sweet laugh at his poor choice of grammar and it made Frank feel like less of a dumbass.

“But you’re just so fucking beautiful. I wanted you so bad and I gave in...I’m sorry. I just think we should take our time. Maybe we could go a real date? Or maybe even a couple of dates. I dunno how any of this stuff is supposed to work, but I want us to be more than just sex.”

“Are you invoking the third date rule on me?” Joey teased as she caught on to want he wanted. “You don’t want me to think you’re easy?”

“Fack, if you keep touching me like that, Joe, then I’ll definitely reconsider and be your slut tonight.”

Joey loved it when he called her Joe, especially when his sexy Boston accent sneaked through. She felt his erection twitch against her fingertips and decided to rub her palm against it again and hold it more firmly through his jeans without his coaxing.

“Touch you? You mean, like this?” she purred as she stroked what she could hold through his jeans. She was very impressed with what she could fit in her hand so far and was very excited to see for herself what he was he was working with.

“Fack, exactly like that.” Frank groaned as he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers again. “I’m such an idiot. Can you just forget everything that I just said and let me take you to bed?”

“Forget everything? Even the part when you said that you wanted us to be an ‘us?’” she asked in a small voice.

Frank opened his eyes slowly and shook his head. “No... I meant that part.”

An “us” was exactly what he wanted, but now his intentions were all out there on the table and she could stomp on his heart if she wanted to. He was completely at her mercy.

She stopped stroking him and placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. He would have emptied out his meager bank account in a heartbeat to know what she was thinking.

He took he a few deep breaths and was grateful that she had stopped stroking his cock, he wasn’t sure if he had the willpower to refuse her a second time.

“So what do we do now? I think I read somewhere that the three date rule is now the five date rule-”

“Three dates.” Frank interrupted quickly. “Three. Only three. Five dates is stupid and there’s no way I can wait that long. Is there a two date rule anywhere?”

Joey couldn’t help but giggle. Frank Adler was adorable in the sexiest way possible. She didn’t hate the idea of getting to know him better and possibly becoming an “us.” She really want to break her dry spell, but in the meantime, that’s what vibrators were for.

“I haven’t really thought this through.” he confessed as he wrapped his arms around her. The pain in his chest was lessening the more that she smiled up at him. “I don’t really know what I’m doing. I just want to know you...all of you. And for the first time in awhile, I really think it might be nice to have someone to know me, too.”

His heartfelt confession made Joey’s heart skip a beat and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I want to know you, Frank.” Joey breathlessly whispered against his cheek before she quickly kissed him again.

She believed him, and understood that he didn’t mean to hurt her by rejecting her. She couldn’t help but feel like she was on the verge something very good standing there with him in his bedroom. Never had a man been so open with her so quickly.

“Do you want me to walk you home now? Or can I convince you to stay and hang out with me for a bit?” Frank was sure that he sounded needy, he just didn’t want to say goodbye to her yet. He was so excited that she was game for all of this and wanted to get a head start on getting to know everything about her.

“Where are we gunna hang out? Isn’t this going to be a problem?” Joey teased and looked down at his tented crotch. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a cold shower or...I dunno. Have some alone time?” she added with a wink.

“Come ‘er, smartass.” Frank laughed and walked them over to the bed and lowered her down in the same fashion that he had done just minutes prior. “I’ll keep my hands to my myself if you do.”

\-------------------------

Joey and Frank laid in his bed all night and talked about life, politics, religion, pop culture, even sports in between makeout sessions. They didn’t match up on every topic, but neither one had been very disappointed because they seemed to agreed where it mattered and shared a similar world view.

They tried not to make too much noise and had taken to laughing into their pillows in the same way that Mary did when she had her girlfriends from Girl Scouts over for a slumber party.

Learning how to suddenly raise kids out of the blue seemed to bond them in a special way. Neither one of them felt the need to pretend that they were perfect and were very forgiving of their flaws and mistakes. Frank still hadn’t brought up the custody battle he had recently had with his mother. He and Joey were so happy and he didn’t want to bring them both down with that drama.

All night, they had cuddled and touched each other everywhere over their clothes and got their kissing game down to an art form. Joey’s face had some mad beard burn and Frank’s lips felt a little numb, but neither of them could recall being happier in a long time.

After Frank was sure that he was having an out of body experience when Joey was straddling him and running her fingers through his hair, they developed a shorthand between them to alert the other person when they had gone too far and needed to pull back a bit.

They had almost crossed the line and torn each other’s clothes off so many times over the course of the night. Communication between the two of them was essential if they were going to stick to their three date rule.

Despite their strong connection, they both agreed that they could wait to have sex. But it was hard. No pun intended.

“Oh my god. Don’t tell me the sun is coming up?” Joey groaned from Frank’s shoulder.

Frank stopped playing with her hair and craned his neck to checked the time. “Looks that way. We still have time though. Mary doesn’t wake up till 8.”

“So Mr. Playa. Where are ya taking me on our date?”

“Stop calling me that!” Frank laughed and pulled her closer against him and poked at her sides as punishment.

He loved how ticklish Joey was and how she responded to his most basic touch. He couldn’t wait to get these dates over with; they were going to be so good together, he could tell already.

“ _Shhh!_ You’re too loud.” Joey giggled and silenced him with another kiss.

During the course of the night, Frank had confessed to her his usual dating patterns to explain his lack of game and had earned the affectionate nickname in the process.

“How in the world can you not be ticklish?” Joey asked again in disbelief as she snuck her hand under his shirt and ran her fingers over his tummy.

“I dunno.” he shrugged. “Never have been. I guess it’s my superpower.”

“Everyone is ticklish, you weirdo.” Joey teased. “You just wait till we get those three dates outta the way. I’ll find your ticklish spot.”

“You’re more than welcome to try. But I’m tellin’ ya, I’m made of rock hard stone.” he playfully countered.

“I’m well aware.” she teased as she raised her eyebrow in the cheeky way that had made Frank laugh all night. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to experience any of that ‘rock hardness’ for myself.”

“How long has it been for you, since you last had sex?” Frank asked as his hand ran down her side and cupped her ass. He’d never been so comfortable so quickly with another woman before. Especially with a woman that he hadn’t slept with yet. But over the course of the night, Frank had studied every inch of Joey’s body and couldn’t stop touching her. “Or is that a bad question to ask? Am I overstepping? I know where you went school. I know how you like your steak cooked and how you like your coffee. I know that your favorite colour is green and that you wore braces as a kid. I know the name of your childhood pet.”

“Which _waaaas_?” she playfully sung out.

“Nice try, Kincade. I’m not saying that. Not in a million years.”

Joey tried to get him to name her beloved childhood cat by sticking out her bottom lip out as far as it would go and scratching his tummy the way that she had recently discovered that he liked when she first tried to tickle him.

Frank grinned and shook his head. Joey was adorable, but he squeezed her ass hard and refused to give in. He never should have revealed his weakness for tummy scratches, he was putty in her hands.

“You weren’t even listening to me, were you?” she playfully chastised. “So much for wanting to know me!”

“I did, too! You’re the worst!” he groaned as she cuddled up against him.

“I’m the worst? At least I put out, buddy!” Joey giggled against his neck.

Frank tried not to laugh too loudly and wrapped his arms around her. Having Joey in his bed all night had been amazing. She was much better company than Einstein and Bob.

Joey and Frank were both so over tired that it was making them giddy. They knew they were going to pay for staying up all night the next day, but they just didn’t want their magic to end.

“Okay, just once, just for you. Just to prove that I was listening…. here goes any shred of my manhood…you’re never gunna want to fuck me now.”

“Quit stalling, Adler.” Joey giggled. “You forgot. I knew it!”

“Your childhood pet was a grey tabby cat named Mr. Snuggle Button.”

“Nope! Try again! Would you like to phone a friend? He was Doctor Snuggle Button, thank you very much. He was a very educated cat.”

“Ahh ya got me there.” Frank brushed her hair away from her face kissed her smiling lips.

Even though they had been making out all night, Frank still couldn’t believe that he was so lucky. He had messed up twice that night. Once by not kissing her goodnight and then later by giving into temptation and having her think that they were going to have sex.

But Joey was still there on his bed, and he was making her smile her gorgeous smile.

“You still haven’t answered me.” Frank softly coaxed. “How long has it been? You don’t have to tell me, but I’ll remind you that I just said-” he was about to repeat her cat’s embarrassing name but stopped himself just in time. “I did just remembered your doctor-cat’s name.”

“ _Doctor-cat!_ ” she giggled. “It’s okay. I don’t mind you asking. I mean, what haven’t we talked about tonight. The truth is, it’s been awhile. At least, it’s been awhile for me. Maybe three months.”

“So tonight you were kinda looking forward to...you know. Letting off some steam?” he asked quietly as he ran his nose up her cheek.

“Uh huh. But I like this, too.” Joey sighed and turned over onto her back. “I haven’t had this much fun with my clothes on in a really long time.”

“We could still...I mean we could maybe do everything, but do the deed. Is that breaking the rules?”

“They’re your rules, Frank.” she reminded him.

“But it doesn’t seem fair to you though, does it?” he pointed out and placed his hand on her lower belly. “Three months...that’s gotta be rough.”

“Stop, I’m fine. You make it sound like I’m sex starved and in dire straits. Three dates remember? Why am I convincing you now? “

“Three dates is still the plan. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still get off.” Frank explained and ran his hand down lower and cupped her pussy over her jeans. It hadn’t been the first time he had touched her so intimately. They had been pawing at each over their clothes other all night and he assumed (correctly) that his touch was very welcome.

“What? Like right now? Without taking our clothes off? How does that work?”

“I dunno. But I’d love to watch you get off. I won’t even touch you.”

“But I want you to touch me, dummy. That’s the whole problem.”

Joey’s sexy reminder made Frank squeezed her harder over her jeans. She instantly loved the friction that he was creating and writhed against his hand to try and feel more of it.

“You’re so fucking sexy, Joe.” Frank groaned into her ear as he rubbed her a little faster and watched her hips move. “I really want to give you this.”

“Like my consolation prize?” She giggled until his hand hit the right spot. Then her giggle trailed into a soft moan that made Frank’s heart swell with pride.

“Something like that. But trust me, it’s really for both of us.”

Between Frank’s strong hand working its magic and Joey’s hips telling him where to touch her, she could feel her release building.

“So good.” she moaned while he started to kiss the side of her neck. “But we gotta stop. Frank. I think you’re actually gunna make me come this way.”

“That’s the whole point, dummy. Do you really want me to stop?” Frank was hard rock again, but was more focused on Joey needs than his own. He loved the way she moved and all of the soft sounds that she made. He knew that making her come would be so satisfying.

“Doesn’t this count? I thought we were going to wait.” She tried to stifle her groan when he adjusted his position to help squeeze and rub her harder and more effectively. “This really feels like it counts… ah, yes, Frank. That feels so fucking good.”

“You’re so amazing, Joey.” Frank praised as he slipped his other arm under her neck and held her hand. “What’s the difference? You already said that when thought you had struck out with me you were going to go home and try and find your vibrator. You were going get off anyway.”

Joey kept her eyes closed but smiled at the recap. There wasn’t much she hadn’t told Frank that night. Her mind was fuzzy as she raised her hips off the mattress and tried to make his hand press down in the right spot again.

If what they were doing felt that good, Joey could only imagine how good it would be when they were finally able to act on their feelings and truly fuck each other.

Joey looked up into his blue eyes. The same blue eyes that she had admired that the night at Ferg’s. She had thought at the time that they had a sexy bedroom quality to them and she couldn’t have been more right. Only this time there was something different about them, something more.

She cared about him now, and as much as he wanted to please her and make her come, he was giving into his temptation again. She really wanted to reach her climax, but she also didn’t want him to regret their time together once it was over.

“Stop. Frank. I mean it, please stop.”

Frank did as he was told and took his hand away and readjusted his erection.

“Are you sure? You looked like you were pretty close.”

“I was. That was good...you were...you were really good.” Joey squeezed Frank’s hand and tried to catch her breath.

She pushed herself up and sat on the bed beside him. He still was looking at her with concern so she took his hand in hers and linked their fingers together.

“If that was any indication of how amazing it’s going to be after three dates, then I want to wait, too.”

Joey’s lips looked extra full and pouty after their night together and her eyes were so honest and kind. Frank's heart swelled as he leaned in to kiss her again but they both were startled to hear a banging coming from the other side of his bedroom door.

“Frank! I’m hungry. Why is your door locked? Are you still sleeping? Come on! I have Girl Scouts in an hour. Jessie is bring brownies remember? I need my sash, I think it’s hanging on your closet door!”

A panic spread through Joey’s body and she covered her mouth with both hands. Her and Frank hadn’t been paying attention to the time at all and Mary was already awake.

 _“Shit!”_ they both whispered in unison and scrambled off the bed.

“What do I do? Should I hide?”

“Gimme a minute! I’ll be out in a second.” Frank called out to Mary and ran his hand down his face, he fucked up again and had no idea what to do. “She’ll find you if you hide.” he added to Joey in a hushed voice.

Joey looked around Frank’s small bedroom and tried to figure out what she should do. She really liked Mary after meeting her on the beach. So facing the music and having the little girl find out about her and Frank wasn’t the end of the world, but she really wanted Mary to like her. She’d been making out with Frank all night long and probably looked like a scary mess, not exactly the kind of impression that Joey wanted to make.

“Window!” Joey whispered.

Frank smirked at Joey and rolled his eyes. Why not? They had been fooling around like teenagers all night, it seemed fitting that their night together should have same ending as the night that he had lost his virginity as a kid. Only this time, the honor of escaping through a window would fall to the girl, instead of him.

Joey already had his bedroom window pushed open and was sitting on the window sill studying how far a drop it was to the ground. For the first time living in a tiny bungalow was proving to have it’s rewards. Frank had had to scale three stories down a garden trellis to keep from being caught when he was sixteen.

“Here goes nothing.” Joey whispered with a huge mischievous smile on her face. “Thanks for the best first date I’ve ever had, Adler.”

Joey was about to slip out of his window but Frank had to stop her.

"Wait!” Frank too two long strides over to his window and kissed Joey hard. He had missed his chance to kiss her goodbye before and vowed that he was never going to make that mistake again.

She parted her lips and let him dip his tongue into her mouth as she sat with her legs hanging out of his window frame. She twisted her body against him and ran her fingers through his floppy hair while he gently held her cheek. Neither one was thinking about Mary or making a stealthy exit.

Frank groaned into her mouth and tilted her head to the side to deepen their first official goodbye kiss. They had kissed each other all night, but this one was different and they both felt it.

“Frank!! Wake UP! I don’t want to be late!” Mary banged on the door again, only this time a lot harder than before.

“You’re not gunna be late. Go pour some cereal.” he called back over his shoulder in the hopes he could buy some more time with Joey.

Mary was annoyed and Joey felt bad for the kid. She remembered being a Girl Scout and how excited she used to get before she had a meet up with the rest of her troop. As much as she hated saying goodbye to Frank and going back to the real world, she didn’t want to get on Mary’s bad side.

“Here goes nothing. Cover me?” Joey teased with her hands still in his hair.

“I’m I a bad guy for not wanting you to leave yet?”

“Patience, Mr. Playa. This has been the longest foreplay in history. I need a cold shower and new pair of panties.”

“Don’t call me that.” Frank groaned with a pained expression.

“I’m sorry. Try and get some sleep later after you drop Mary off. You have some dates to plan.”

“Three dates. Easy. When can I see you again?”

“I’m not sure. I’m still trying to find me and Sam a place and I start work on Monday.”

Frank didn’t know what he was expecting, of course she was bound to be busy building her new life here, but he was still disappointed.

 _“Heeey.”_ Joey soothed as she ran her fingers through his shaggy hair. She just couldn’t stand to see Frank sad even for moment, this was going to be a problem she mused. “I had a great time with you. I’ll try and make time. And in the meantime, you have my number and I’m right across the street.”

“Having a shower and changing your panties...the visuals aren’t helping.” Frank added as he puffed out a sly laugh.

“You’re adorable. Get some coffee into you and drive safe, okay. You’ve got precious cargo.”

Frank held his drapes off the side as Joey slid out of his window. Thankfully she made it to the ground okay and didn’t manage to break her neck. She looked very proud of herself and quickly made her way across his lawn.

“Hey! Kincade! Come ‘er you.” Frank stuck his head out his window and called out to her before she got too far.

Joey jogged back to him and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him one last time.

“Striking out has never been so much fun, you know that.” he smirked down at her.

“Three dates. Three. Then you’re gunna be my slut, Adler.”

“You can count on it.” he laughed. “And I promise this’ll be the last time you’ll have to sneak out of my window.”

“That’s okay. Makes me feel like a ninja!” She joked and struck a few similar ninja poses that she had made on the beach with Sam.

“On second thought, do I really want to be seen in public with you? I changed my mind. Lose my number.” Frank tried to keep a straight face, but he was learning that it was almost impossible for Joey not to make him smile. Especially when she was being a ridiculous dork.

Joey winked up at him and took off across his lawn again. Frank watched her until she had crossed the road and made it to her mother’s house. He didn’t take his eyes off her until he knew that she made it back safely.

He couldn’t believe it, he had let his guard down with Joey for close to seven hours and the world didn’t implode. He hadn’t pretended to be anyone but himself all night and she didn’t run screaming for the hills.

Frank couldn’t help but like who he was when he was with her. Joey brought out a side of him that he wasn’t sure had even existed a few days ago. But now that he had experienced a taste of what life could be like with the right person, he didn’t want that feeling to end.

He was still leaning out of his window enjoying his high when he felt a pair of eyes on him and noticed that Roberta was standing by the mailboxes with her arms crossed and a no nonsense look on her face.

“Ah. Shit.”

So much for a stealthy ninja exit.

 


	6. "Coffee"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after their night together, Frank and Joey both get some unfortunate news and Frank get surprised by an old friend.

Frank scrambled to change out the clothes that he had been wearing all night and splashed some water on his face before he went out into the kitchen to see Mary. He was still on cloud nine and was convinced that he could fulfill all of his parental duties and get Mary to her Girl Scouts meetup on time despite having spent the night getting to know Joey.

“My shash?” Mary reminded him as she stuffed another spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

“Yeah, it’s in there. I’ll grab it. You excited for today?”

“Uh huh!.” She smiled and dug into her breakfast. “What’s up with you? You look different.”

“Different?”

Frank didn’t want to look like mess in front of Jessie, she had been Mary’s Girl Scout leader ever since he'd signed her up and he knew that she would be there when he dropped Mary off. It had been a long time since he’d pulled an all nighter and even longer since he’d felt the need to impress a woman’s mother. Frank quickly smoothed out his shirt and ran his hands through his hair to try and look more presentable.

“Better?” he asked with concerned eyes. He was starting to understand how women felt sometimes; he had never really been that concerned with his appearance before.

“You don’t look bad.” Mary giggled “...you just seem different. Like happier or something. Maybe you should sleep in more often?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Frank breathed a sigh of relief.

Frank started to make a pot of coffee when he looked up and saw Roberta walking down the path to his kitchen door and his shoulders dropped. She had just witnessed Joey’s unconventional exit and, judging by the look on her face, Frank knew that he was about to get a piece of her mind. He could still taste Joey on his lips and wasn’t in the mood for a lecture.

“Hey, did you ever tell Joey that I said hi?” Mary asked. “Maybe we’ll get to see Sam again today?”

“Yeah, maybe…he is pretty cute, huh?”

Frank sighed as he watched Roberta hastily take out her giant set of keys. She wasn’t waiting for an invitation.

“It’s open!” he called out her through the door. “That’s gotta be illegal. You know knockin is still a thing that civilized people do, right. I’m standing right here, I’d let you in. You never know, I might even pour you a cup of coffee.”

“Mornin’, baby.” Roberta greeted Mary and kissed the top of her head but starred icy cold daggers into Frank.

He handed her a cup of coffee to try and win her over, but she gave him a look that let him know that she was still displeased with him but wouldn’t talk about it in front of Mary.

Frank sighed and leaned up against the kitchen counter; here we go again.

He had no idea what Roberta’s problem was this time. Frank ignored the two of them as they caught up and discussed the badges that the two of them were working on for Mary’s Girl Scouts.

Frank had a quick moment to himself and he smiled a small, peaceful smile, closing his tired eyes. He could still see Joey’s smiling face in his mind's eye and loved that he could still faintly smell her perfume on him. Damn, that girl was something else, she really had him.

“FRANK! Wake up!” Roberta snapped and made him jump. “You gunna snap out of it and get the girl her shash? Maybe you shoulda gotten some sleep last night?”

Frank still had no idea why Roberta was being so nasty with him. Wasn’t it Roberta and all of her nosy friends that had gone out of their way to organize a romantic little getaway for him and Joey? All behind his back, no less. Why would she be so pissed the next day to see that her efforts at matchmaking had been successful?

“I’ll get it!” Mary beamed as she finished her breakfast and took off into Frank’s bedroom.

“What’s your problem?”

“I just hate feeling stupid, is all.” Roberta sadly confessed and shook her head. “I thought that maybe because Joey was Jessie’s daughter you were going to change your ways and not do something stupid. But ya’ll didn’t change your ways, did you? You went and done something reckless.”

“Roberta, Joey and I -” Frank tried to explain, but she cut him off.

“You know damn well that I would have taken Mary for the night, I thought we both agreed that she doesn’t need to see all kinds of women comin’ and goin’ from her life. I just feel stupid for believing in you, I should’ve known better.”

Frank’s heart dropped. For as annoyed as he pretended to be with her, Roberta was his closest friend and the closest thing that his niece had to mother figure. Other than the decision he had made to finally send Mary to school, they had pretty much always been on the same page when it came to Mary.

Roberta had always kept him in check and had gone out of her way for years to help him raise his niece. He owed her a lot and disappointing her stung.

He opened his mouth to try to explain himself again, but Roberta kept chewing him out.

“The baby was home. I know it’s none of my business and I don’t get a say. I just never thought in a million years that you’d have another one of your flings with her sleeping on the other side a very thin wall. I never would have helped you out if I thought Joey would be jumping outta your window the next morning.”

“Look...Roberta...It’s not what you think. We talked. That’s it.”

“All night?” Roberta seemed to be amused at the concept, but gave him the benefit of the doubt when she saw him start to blush. Frank didn’t smile much, but when he did, it sure was something to pay attention to.

“Trust me, no one is more shocked than I am. But it was nice. It was really nice, actually. I like her. We’re going to take things slow, so you don’t need to worry about Mary. We got it covered. After what happened with Bonnie, we didn’t want her to get the wrong idea…”

“We? _‘We’_ didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. You’re a _we_ now? That must have been one hell of a conversation.”

“Wrong idea about what?” Mary asked as she came back into the kitchen.

Frank sighed and smiled at her. She looked adorable in her Girl Scout uniform.

“Nothing, kiddo.” he deflected. “Let’s get going, okay.”

\---------------------

Joey groaned and rolled over onto her stomach when she heard, what sounded like, loud heavy banging coming from outside of her mother’s house. She was too tired to understand what she was hearing so she pulled her pillow over her head to avoid it.

She had been prepared to take her lumps, like a big girl, and suffer for the rest of the day without having gotten any sleep the previous night, but her mom stepped in and saved the day, as per usual.

By the time that Joey had crossed the street and gotten to her mom’s house, her mother had already had Sam dressed and ready to spend the day with her and her Girl Scout troop. Jessie hadn't taken no for an answer and had been very excited to show off her grandson and spend the day with him.

Maybe moving home had been a good idea, after all. Joey was grateful that she had someone to help her out with Sam. No matter how much she protested and insisted that her foster child was solely her responsibility, her mother was so eager to try and make her life a little easier.

She hoped that she could be half the mother to Sam that her mother was to her. She had a lot to live up to and just thinking about failing Sam made her tummy hurt.

After they'd left, Joey had showered quickly and ignored the six, “So what happened last night with Frank?” text messages from Alice and had headed straight to bed. It took Joey a few moments to realize, in her exhausted state, that the banging she was hearing was actually someone knocking on the door and they were not going away.

Joey sighed and reluctantly rolled out of bed and threw on her giant pink comfy robe. She must have looked like death as she dragged her tired butt down the hall. But when the knocking started to become louder and more aggressive, Joey jumped and picked up the pace.

She swung open the front door only to have her heart stop when she saw two uniformed police officers standing on her mother’s doorstep. The lights on their police cruisers could be seen from a few doors down and Joey knew that something terrible had happened.

“Afternoon, ma’am. Are you Ms. Jessica Kincade?”

“No, Jessica is my mother. Is everything okay?”

“We’re here to inform her that one of her elderly tenants unfortunately passed away last night. We’re about to have the body removed and the next of kin has already been notified. We just have some paperwork for your mother to fill out. Since we had to use force to enter the premise.”

“That’s terrible. Of course, I’ll get ahold of her for you.”

Apparently, her mother’s 75 year-old tenant, Mr. Edward Hamilton, hadn’t made it to his weekly chess game that morning and his friend had been worried about him. From what the paramedics had said, it looked like he died peacefully in his sleep. His son had been notified and was already making all the necessary arrangements.

She took all of the police officers information and excused herself to call her mother and quickly throw some clothes on. She was dying for a cup of coffee...or three, but had more important matters to tend to.

Joey had never met Mr. Hamilton, but she had a feeling that her mother was going to take the news pretty hard. Her mom was just like that. She seemed to have a special relationship with all of her tenants.

Boy had she been right. Her mother sounded devastated over the phone when she'd broken the news. Joey didn’t want her mother driving herself and Sam in such an emotional state and insisted that she should come and pick them up instead.

Jessie sniffed and insisted that she would be alright, but shuffled the phone a bit to have secondary conversation with someone who was standing beside her.

Joey listened to her mother explain through her sobs what had happened and whoever she was talking to backed Joey up and offered to drive her home and wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Before they hung up, Jessie instructed Joey to tell the police officers about Gus, Mr. Hamilton’s five-year-old golden retriever. She asked them to tie him up in Ed’s backyard until she got there and figured out where to rehome him. It was the least that she could do for her old friend.

As tired as Joey was, there was no way that she would be able to go back to sleep with all of the drama that was going on outside. She relayed to the police the information about the dog and noticed the large groups of people on either side of her mother’s house and across the road. It seemed like everyone from the two rental lots had convened and were outside watching the situation unfold.

Joey decided to go outside to wait for her mother and to see if she could be of any help. Coffee could wait. But, truthfully, she was hoping that she would get to see Frank. She scanned the various groups of people that were standing around, but when she didn’t see him, she figured that he must be still be trying to get some sleep after having only dropped Mary off a few hours ago.

Last night had been amazing. Sure, she still wished that she had gotten lucky, but in the end, she had gotten a lot more than she had bargained for. She had no idea having a guy turn her down in such an honest and thoughtful way would be such a major turn on. There was a bravery in Frank letting her in the way he did and Joey found it sexy as hell.

Joey felt a little out of place as she stood in her mother’s front yard daydreaming about Frank's hands and lips, until she spotted a friendly face in the crowd. Roberta, her mother’s best friend, was standing across the road with a group of people and Joey lite up and waved to her.

Roberta looked almost disappointed to see her and simply nodded her head and kept talking with the other bystanders. That wasn’t the reaction that Joey had expected, but before she could process her reaction she saw her mother’s car coming down the road.  
\-----------------------------------------------

Frank got the call about Ed ten minutes before his alarm was set to go off. Edward Hamilton had been a spirited, lively old man that had taught Mary how to play chess when she was two and a half. Frank had known he was old, but he'd had no idea that the man had been in poor health.

Mary was going to take the news pretty hard. Frank checked his phone and noticed that, as he'd slept, he'd missed a text from Jessie and three more from Bonnie that were letting him know that Mary’s Girl Scout meetup had to end early and that they were going to be bringing her home with them.

He scrolled through the rest of his messages and was delighted to find another text message that he had missed a few hours ago.

Joey: xo sweet dreams Frank.

The time of the text suggested that she had sent it just a few minutes after she'd gotten home that morning. He loved that she had taken that two seconds to think of him before she passed out.

He looked out his window across the road and his heart dropped. The coroner's office was already there were wheeling out, what must have been, Edward’s body from his house. Everyone was mulling around and the police were still there, but that little hopeful spark that had been lite the night before was still there burning strong while he scanned the crowds looking for Joey.

He didn’t see her, or her mother’s car yet, so he poured himself a cup of coffee. Frank realized that after their night together, he knew how Joey took hers and poured a second cup for her as well.

As Frank stepped outside, it hit him how easy it would be to slip into the sober mood that surrounded him, tempting even, but when he saw Jessie’s car pull up and he felt like a giddy little kid knowing that it wouldn’t be long before he saw Joey again.

He couldn’t stop the big grin from stretching across his face when he finally spotted her across the street, pulling her mom into a big hug the second Jessie had gotten out of the car. Giant goofy smiles weren’t exactly in keeping with the tragedy that had just taken place, but he couldn’t help it and he hoped that no one had noticed.

But someone had noticed. Bonnie Stevenson had gotten out of the driver's side of Jessie’s car and, to his uncomfortable horror, he had inadvertently made her smile back at him. Rookie move, Alder.

Bonnie looked as cute as he remembered her to be. She was wearing a smart floral sundress under her Girl Scout Leader vest and was starting to blush and fix her hair. Frank felt like an ass for possibly leading her on and getting her hopes up. Things hadn’t worked out between them, but he still wished her well. She had been kind to him at a time in his life when he'd really felt like he hadn't deserved it, but he was definitely not smiling because of her.

Frank would have loved to have avoided the situation, but he had two coffees in hand and had to walk over and fetch Mary.

Once he laid eyes on Mary, Frank forgot all about Bonnie and was filled with concern. She'd gotten out of the car with Sam and was standing in Jessie’s driveway looking so small and somber in her Girl Scout uniform. She must have already heard the new about Ed because when their eyes met her bottom lip started to quiver.

Little Sam was holding Mary’s hand and started to pepper little kisses on it when the tears began to fall from her eyes. He was too young to know what was going on, but he knew that Mary was sad and was trying to comfort her the best he could.

Watching the two kids together broke Frank’s heart and he picked up his pace and quickly stored his coffee mugs on the top of Jessie’s car before he scooped Mary up into his arms. It was almost as if his comfort gave her permission to let it all out and she started to sob into his shoulder.

“You okay?” he asked. But he already knew the answer. He would do anything to spare her this kind of pain. She felt so small in his arms. He was so grateful that they had already taken Ed’s body away. Mary didn’t need to see that.

“Ed.” Was all Mary could say through her hiccuped sobs.

“I know. I know.” Frank squeezed her a little tighter and smoothed her hair.

Joey was still comforting her mother beside them and their eyes met for a moment. She gave him a small sweet sympathetic smile and he nodded back to her. This wasn’t exactly the coolest way to impress a woman, but real life had a way of throwing curve balls at you when you least expect it.

But Frank wasn’t embarrassed having Joey witness him comfort Mary. In fact, having her see the real him didn’t bother him at all. Even though he had tears in his eyes, he felt a little stronger knowing that Joey was nearby for some reason.

Bonnie tentatively came up to them and rubbed Mary’s back, but pulled away when Roberta showed up.

“Baby, I am so sorry, little one.” Roberta softly smoothed. “Can I take her?”

Frank nodded his head and handed Mary over. In times like this, he really relied on Roberta. She usually knew just what to do and never failed to put a smile back on Mary’s face.

“Come on now, baby girl, we’ll go back to my place. I’ll make you favorite dinner and we’ll watch movies and maybe sing some of Ed’s favorite songs. Whaddaya say, huh?”

Mary wiped her eyes and nodded her head. “Can Sam come, too?”

“Sure, baby. If it’s okay with his ma-” Roberta was about to say “mama” but was unsure of what Joey’s official title was. Joey nodded her head and kissed the top of Sam’s head and made him promise to be good for her.

“I’ll come check on her in a bit, okay.” Frank added with a nod. He handed Joey her coffee, as if he had been making her coffee for years, and mouthed, “Thank you,” to Roberta.

Frank, finally, saw Roberta soften towards him for the first time that day before she carried Mary back to her place. She might still be mad at him, but it was nice to know that they still could come together when it mattered and put their animosity behind them for Mary’s sake.

As Roberta left with Mary and Sam, Joey took a sip of her coffee and Bonnie started to look a little uncomfortable and begun to rock on her heels. Frank knew he should say something, but awkward small talk with his ex in front of a girl that he was trying to impress was not something that Frank thought he could navigate at the moment.

“Thanks again for driving my mom home, Bonnie. That was awfully nice of you.” Joey smiled as she broke the silence and continued to rubbed her mother’s back. “Do you need me to drive you back to get your car?”

“No, you’re very welcome, though. My brother is coming to pick me up. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Bonnie graciously gave her condolences and looked over at Frank with concern until he met her gaze.

Joey caught their interactions and remembered that the two of them had shared a brief history together and wondered if maybe she should leave them alone. Bonnie looked so genuinely worried about him.

Luckily, the decision was made for her when the two police officers that had woken her up earlier, approached them with the paperwork that needed her mother’s signature and pulled them aside. Joey smiled and raised up her coffee mug to Frank to thank him for thinking of her and went up onto her mother’s porch. Frank, instead, gave her a nod and motioned that he would wait for her down in the driveway.

Joey tried to focus on comforting her mother and listening to what the officers were saying, but she couldn’t help but be distracted by Frank and Bonnie. She couldn’t quite read their body language, but it was obvious that Bonnie still cared about him, it was written all over her face.

Even after the night that she and Frank had shared, Joey didn’t really consider Frank “hers” yet and hated the idea of stealing a man away from another woman. Even though he didn’t seem to be responding to any of the cute flirtatious vibes that Bonnie was sending out, Joey was still unsure of the entire situation.

Afterall, she had just met the man. What if last night hadn't been what she thought it had been? Frank could very well be playing her. Maybe a dozen women had heard the same, _“We should take things slow and get to know each other speech,”_ and she was just the latest conquest. Or worse, what if he was using Bonnie to simply try and make her jealous? _Yuck!_

Joey quickly dismissed those dark thoughts and drank her coffee. Frank didn’t have to play her. After all, she had practically thrown her panties at him last night. Playing her would have been counterintuitive since she had offered herself up so willingly in the first place. Besides, Frank knew that she would desperately need coffee and remembered how she liked it, that had to count for something.

But then Joey heard Bonnie laugh and she touched Frank’s shoulder in a way that suggested that they were very comfortable with each other and Joey held her breath and started to question her worth.

She slowly exhaled when Frank shyly smirked and looked down at his shoes, but didn’t return Bonnie’s attention. Joey cursed herself for getting so paranoid and worked up over nothing. After being dumped, she was seeing problems where there were none and felt silly.

That was until Bonnie made her move out of nowhere and quickly stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Frank on the mouth. It took Frank off guard and some of the neighbours, that were making their way home, shot each other smirks and side glances.

It was amusing for the neighbors, but for Joey time completely stopped. All she could hear was the sound of her cousin’s voice warning her not to fall for him too soon.

Joey was so shocked that she almost didn’t notice how Frank swiftly pried Bonnie off of him and shook his head. She started to relax when she overheard him saying what sounded like, “No no no, you’ve got the wrong idea, Bonnie. It’s not like that,” as he wiped his mouth with his hand.

What a difference a few days can make, Frank thought to himself. He had gone from trying to find a weekly hookup at Ferg’s to turning down two women in two days.

A deep blush burned into Bonnie cheeks and she couldn’t look him in the eye. Frank felt terrible. He had wanted to make the awkward situation better for her and let her off the hook, but he then he looked up to the porch to see if Joey had witnessed what had just happened and, judging by the look on her face, she had.

Poor Joey was pale and wouldn’t look at him either. After everything that she had shared with him the night before, the idea of being a person that hurt her was sobering.

“I’m sorry...I just thought...I mean now that the custody case is ov-....I’m just gunna go.” Bonnie stammered in a shaky voice as she tried not to cry. Her brother had just pulled up by the house and she couldn’t wait to get out of there.

“Bonnie, I’m sorry. I really am. But...trust me. It’s for the best...” He tried to comfort her the best he could and soften the blow of his rejection, but Joey looked so sad up on the porch and he had a hard time taking his eyes off her. He was so worried that she had gone back to thinking that he was the jackass from Ferg’s that her cousin threw her margaritas at.

“So Jessie’s daughter, huh?” Bonnie added, pointing out what was being made very obvious the more Frank glanced up at the porch like a panicked love sick puppy. His attention was clearly divided and Bonnie was mad that he couldn’t even focus on her long enough to properly turn down her advances. “Yeah, I went to school with her. I, not so secretly, hoped that she had peaked in high school. But, hey, I was wrong. She’s still...she’s still Joey.”

“We’re sorta seeing each other... I mean I think we are. We just met. It’s all kinda new.” Frank tried to explain.

“Wow. She works fast.”

Bonnie had an edge to her voice that ended any sympathy that Frank had felt towards her. She noted the shift in his mood and felt that famous Frank Adler wall go up. Her pride was still hurt she and didn’t bother to apologize for being catty. Instead, she waved up to Jessie and made a beeline to her brother’s car.

The crowds of people had all pretty much left, by the time that Joey and Jessie were done speaking with the two police officers on their porch. It was starting to get late in the afternoon, but Frank stayed and leaned against Joey’s car as the two women came down the stairs.

Jessie nodded to him and dried her tearstained face as made her way to Edward’s unit, but Joey slowly walked over to Frank.

“Hey. Is your mom okay?”

“She’s getting there. Thanks for the coffee, Mr. Playa. Did you ever manage to get some sleep?”

Frank’s shoulders dropped and took a deep breath in through his nose. He wasn’t quite sure if she was joking or not. Obviously, she had witnessed Bonnie's impromptu kiss, but Frank didn’t know her well enough yet to know how she would react to something like that.

“Joe.” he started off slowly. “I meant everything that I said last night.”

“Good. Cause I’m kinda thinking that going slow is probably a really good idea.”

There was a sad caution in her voice that concerned him. He really hoped that she didn’t think that she needed to protect herself from him. Frank might not know for sure what he was doing, but the he was certain, as he watched her nervously chew on her bottom lip, that he would rather chop off his own arm than deliberately hurt her.

“Look, I know you saw that...that …whatever that was with Bonnie… it was all Bonnie.” He looked her in the eye as he tried to explain himself and, in doing so, he felt that same pull that he had felt towards her all that night and even the night before it at Ferg’s.

Joey must have felt it too because, out of the blue, she took his hand in hers and rubbed her thumb across the top of it as he spoke. “I didn’t see it coming. Bonnie and I have been over for months and, even then, we weren’t together very long. It was all awkward to say the least. I just wanted you to know that it wasn’t _me_ kissing _her._ ”

“You don’t really have to explain yourself, Frank, but thank you. I’m not mad at you or anything. It’s not like we had that _‘are we going steady’_ talk, yet. We just met each other.”

“Should I give you my letterman’s jacket, or my school ring or something?” Frank chuckled.

“No.” She giggled and rolled her eyes. “I like you, but you need to know that I’m not the kinda girl that’s going to compete for you. Feeling jealous just makes my tummy hurt and I’d probably just give up and run away. If you want to be with me, then be with me... and just me.”

“I wasn’t trying to make you jealous, Joey. And for the record, I like you, too.”

“Good to know.” She blushed. “We’re just getting to know each other and I’m down for waiting and taking things slow but if there’s gunna be other girls in the mix, then I’m out. Simple as that. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. Side chicks, included.”

“I can live with that.” Frank meant every word and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and let his fingers caress down her cheek.

Monogamy should be interesting, he mused. Frank stood there watching her smile up at him he was definitely willing to give it a shot. He’d been toying around with the idea ever since Bonnie. Now that he was actually looking it in the face he was a little scared, but mostly, because it was Joey, he was excited. How hard could it be?

“Good.” Joey was still blushing, but breathed a sigh of relief. “Wanna help me and my mom board up Mr. Hamilton’s door?"

 

 

 


	7. "A Door and Two Walls"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey’s mother gives her a very generous gift, and Frank makes a mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A deleted scene from Gifted is discussed.

 

***Authors Note: A deleted scene from Gifted is discussed and can be found[HERE](http://luvinchris.tumblr.com/post/163286756873/gifted-deleted-scenes-take-a-hint)**

The sun was starting to set as Frank surveyed the damage to Ed’s old front door. It needed to be boarded up for the night for security reasons until a contractor could fixed the door frame later the next day. After checking in on Mary and Sam at Roberta’s, Frank grabbed his tool box and headed back over to help Jessie and Joey out.

He was happy to be of service, and enjoyed all of the playful hot handyman comments and catcalls that he got from Joey as he worked. He was relieved that Bonnie hitting on him hadn’t caused any permanent damage with her.

He really liked that he knew where he stood with Joey. She wasn’t the kind of girl that was interested in playing games and Frank found that sexier than he thought he would.

The two of them kept stealing glances at each other, even though she was distracted with Gus, the now orphaned golden retriever, and had been fighting with her mother for the past 20 minutes.

When they let Ed’s old dog back into the house it broke Joey’s heart to see him sniffing around and looking for his owner. He looked so sad. To comfort him, she had taken to sitting on the floor with him while she continued to scoff at her mother's outlandish, yet very generous, offer.

“A house? A whole freaking house! ...Ma, I swear. Do I need to be worried about you? You’re way too young to be this senile!” Joey laughed. “Is she goin’ crazy, Gus? Is she, old boy?” she playfully asked her new friend in a cute voice. “Do we need to start looking at nursing homes or getting her one of those _‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up’_ buttons?”

Frank tried not to, but he couldn’t stop himself from smirking as he eavesdropped on their mother daughter conversation. He was learning a lot about Joey by watching her with her family, and, so far, it had been a pretty entertaining show to watch.

“Josephine Juliette Kincade, you watch your sassy little mouth!” Jessie gasped in mock outrage. “This is my house and I can give it to whoever I damn well please. Don’t listen to her, Gus.”

They were both pretty adorable. Frank wished that the arguments that he had with his own mother were that cute. The two Kincade women obviously loved each other dearly, and were more alike than they cared to admit.

As it turned out, Ed’s son who lives in Dallas and given Jessie permission to pack up all of Ed’s belongings with instructions to trash them or give them to GoodWill as she she saw fit (as per his dad’s wishes) and had already paid for the movers to make it happen. They were set to drop by later in the week after the funeral.

In the meantime, Jessie had the bright idea to gift the entire three bedroom house to her daughter free of charge. Frank could practically see Joey’s brain try and wrap itself around such a generous gesture. It was a lot to take in, and Joey had been refusing ever since he got there with his tools.

The only person in the room that wasn’t really that surprised was Frank. Jessie’s reputation for being a kind soul had been very well earned over the years.

“You can’t just go around giving houses away.” Joey insisted as she rubbed the golden retriever's belly. “Look, you don’t have to decide anything right now. I mean, the man’s dirty dishes are still in the sink.”

“It’s going to be a few days until the Hamiltons get everything squared away here. But my mind is made up. This place is yours, or it stays empty.” Jessie stubbornly asserted with her hands on her hips. “By the way, have I mentioned how many hours I was in labour with you?”

“Oh geez, break out the big guns, why don’t you.” Joey smiled at her mom and Frank could tell that she was beginning to cave in. “Maybe I could just rent it from you? There’s no way that I have enough for a downpayment saved -”

“Nonsense. If there is anything that this shitty day has taught me, it’s that life is short.” Jessie kneeled down to her daughter and tucked her hair behind her ears and held her chin up to make her listen to her.

“I invested in these properties to give you a better future. All of this is going to you when I kick the bucket anyway, sweetheart. Let me watch you enjoy your inheritance while I’m still here.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Ma. You’re not dying anytime soon. And besides, I’d much rather see you sell all of these units and use the money on yourself and travel the world one day.”

“That’s your style, sweetheart, not mine. Now that you’re home I have everything that I ever wanted. Plus, now I have a grandson that I want to spoil and if you move in here I can see him every single day. Trust me, this is more about me being selfish and wanting you and Sam close by to keep me company.”

“I like having you close, too. But a whole house? I was thinking about finding a small apartment downtown…something close to work...”

Frank kept his mouth shut, but he was selfishly hoping that Joey took Jessie up on her offer. Having her living right across the road would be unbelievably convenient if things worked out between them. The thought of seeing her everyday brought a smile to his face as he finished boarding up the door.

“This is a bigger unit that most of them.” Jessie explained. “I bought it when I was thinking about expanding, but it still needs some work. I’m not exactly handing you a palace. But it has a new roof and the plumbing and electric have all passed their inspections this year. The backyard is fenced and it’s just begging for a swingset. I really want to do this for you and, especially, for Sam. You know, as well I as do, that that little monkey deserves a permanent home.”

“Ma.” Joey whispered. She suddenly felt shaky and full of emotion. Like any mother, Jessie knew just what buttons to press and invoking Sam’s wellbeing was the perfect play to make.

Gus could sense that Joey was about to cry and nudged her hand with his nose and did his best impression of a small lap dog and tried to curl up into her lap. He was such a good old dog, he jumped into action at the slightest indication of pain.

“I can help.” Frank offered, as Joey wrapped her arms around the dog’s neck and dried her eyes. “After you clear everything out, I’m pretty sure I can rent most of the equipment to refinish the floors from Home Depot and changing out that hideous light in the kitchen should be easy. You might wanna hire someone to clean out your gutters, though, I hate doing that with a burning passion.”

Joey smiled up at Frank through her happy tears and he puff out a laugh when Gus started to lick her face. She loved that Frank had stuck around all day through all the madness. He was proving to be a very useful guy to have around and watching him work with his hands was such an unexpected turn on.

But most of all, she found that having him around gave her a comfort that she hadn’t felt in a long time. It was like he belonged there and that laugh of his was becoming more and more meaningful everytime that she was lucky enough to hear it.

“That light in the kitchen _is_ pretty hideous.” Joey admitted with a defeated sigh.

She looked around the small house with new eyes and tried to get used to the idea of becoming a homeowner for the first time in her life. As scary as it was, her mom was right, Sam did need a permanent home and opportunities like this were a once in a lifetime occurrence.

“So it’s settled. I’ll see about having the deed transferred to your name in the morning and I’ll get the utilities turned over as well. You’re going to be happy here, Josephine, _even_ if it kills me.” Jessie teased.

“What are we gunna do about you, big guy?” Frank mused as he leaned down and scratched Gus behind his ears. “He’s such a good dog but Ed’s son doesn’t want him. I’d hate to see him end up at that shelter. They don’t have a lot of _room._..if you know what I mean.”

“What are you talking about? Gus comes with the house right?” Joey answered with big eyes and a straight face. “No Gus. No deal.”

“Gus is great with kids.” Jessie assured her. “Your little animal lover is going to have a new best friend. Every little boy deserves a dog of his own.” Jessie had a feeling that Joey would end up adopting the dog the minute that the two of them met. Gus hadn’t left her daughter's side since they unchained him.

“Speaking of Sam.” Joey announced. “It’s getting late, I should probably go and pick him up from Roberta’s and give him a bath. I haven’t seen him all day, I miss him.”

“Let Grandma Jess get him.” Jessie volunteered when she saw a look of disappointment flash behind Frank’s eyes at the thought of having to say goodbye to her daughter. “Roberta and I need to catch up. You two stay here and look around and I’ll put Sam to bed for you.”

“Thanks, Ma. I love you, you know that. I was only half kidding about the nursing home.”

“Sure you were.” Jessie teased. “I love you and your sassy little mouth, too. Thank you for letting me be a little eccentric, sweetheart. I don’t have a lot to give you, but I can give this to you and Sam.”

Joey hugged her mom and squeezed her tight. Frank felt a little out of place while the two women had their emotional moment and he wasn’t sure where to look. To break the tension, Jessie pulled Frank into their hug and all three laughed and groaned at her cheesiness.

“Thanks for everything, Frank.” Jessie smiled and patted him on the back.

“Do I get a house too?” He joked.

“What do I look like? Oprah? You get a house, you get a house!”

Joey groaned at her mother and pulled her out to the backdoor to keep her from embarrassing her more in front of Frank. Little did she know, Frank had always found Jessie very endearing and he already had a huge grin on his face.

“So that just happened.” Joey stated in amazement as she walked back into the living room.

“You’re a homeowner now.” Frank smiled. “We should celebrate.”

“You’re right! We should!” Joey beamed and clasped her hands together. “But not today. Today is a sad day. I never got to meet him, but it seems like a lot of people really loved Ed.”

“True. Did she say that this was three bedrooms? I’ve never actually been inside of Ed’s place before. Him and Mary would play chess out on his front porch, or sometimes out on the beach. He was a really good teacher, kicked my ass more times than I can count.”

“Really, that’s so cool? How is Mary?”

“She’s taking it pretty hard, but Roberta had the two kids singing and dancing the last time I checked on them. They were practicing this whole routine for you and Jessie. Apparently it’s going to be pretty epic.”

“That’s amazing, I look forward to it.” Joey giggled. “Maybe we could find Ed’s old chess set and give it her? Something to remind her of her friend. Do you think she’d like that?”

“Yeah, she’d love that.” Frank blinked and was stunned by Joey’s thoughtfulness. Of course Mary would love to have Ed’s old chess set, especially on today of all days. A gesture like that would mean so much to her.

In that moment Frank started to understand Joey a little bit more and all of the parenting fears that she had confided in him the night before started to make a little bit more sense to him.

Her mother had just given her a house. Who does that? Joey would, understandably, feel as if she had gigantic shoes to fill if she was wanted to be the kind the mother to Sam, that Jessie had been to her. Jessie had set the bar so damn high.

But from what Frank could see, Joey and Jessie were cut from exactly the same cloth. Her concern for Mary was proof that her heart was just as kind as her mother’s. If Joey would be more patient with herself he could see her growing into a great mother, as well.

Frank wanted to tell her all of that, but he was completely overwhelmed by how beautiful she looked and how badly he wanted to touch her. He watched her look around, what was now her new home, and was more focused on what she was making him feel and the fact that they were finally alone together.

When their eyes met, Joey’s heart skipped a beat. Frank’s eyes were so filled with so much lust she could practically feel the heat radiating from them. Before she knew it, her back was pressed up against the nearest wall and she was trying desperately to match his intense hunger and kiss him back.

She couldn’t help but let out a guttural moan when started to kissed down her neck. She tried as hard as she could to pull his solid body closer to hers. He smelled so good, and after their night together, he knew exactly how to touch and kiss her. It was almost euphoric how all of the passion that they had felt the night before all came rushing back.

The wetter that Joey got the more she kept pulling him closer. She was getting swept away and wanted nothing more than to feel his body pressed against hers.

Frank resisted her advances and took both of her hands and raised them above her head and pinned them to the wall before he returned his passionate attention back to the side of her neck.

In their frenzied confusion, a picture frame had come loose and Frank instinctually knocked it away so that it wouldn’t hurt her as it fell. It crashed on the floor, but neither of them seemed to care.

Frank knew what Joey wanted when she pulled him closer because he wanted the very same thing. He kept her hands pinned against the wall to keep her from tempting him further. As much as he wanted her, he had every intention of keeping their three date rule. Knowing her first was proving to be very intoxicating. But she was just too amazing and he had to kiss her.

She moaned into his mouth when he took his free hand and went under her shirt and squeezed her breast over her bra. Tasting his lips and feeling his strong hand explore her body made her mind go fuzzy.

Even though, based on her reaction, she didn’t want him to stop, Frank realized that he was getting carried away and quickly took his hand out of her shirt. He kissed her lips again and was silently applauding his restraint, only to find his hand traveling down to cup her between her legs over her jeans.

Frank still couldn’t believe that she wanted him that badly. Her moans were music to his ears. They way that she was responding to him was making him hard and he was ready to throw all of his new rules out the window and make love to her on Ed’s old couch. He’d love to be able to listen her without her having to hold back.

But to his surprise, Joey was the first one to pry away from their searing kiss.

“Three dates, Adler.” She whispered against his wet lips with a smile on her face and her eyes still closed.

“Can I keep kissing you?” Frank asked in his darkly charming way just inches away from her face. “You taste divine, Joe. I can’t wait until I get to taste _all_ of you.”

His Boston accent was sneaking through again and she felt her knees go weak. His words electrified her and instead of answering him she kissed him again. He encouraged her to dip her tongue into his mouth and hearing him growl as he tasted her and sucked on her tongue was so fucking satisfying.

She was grateful that Frank still had her wrists pinned to the wall above her because she was sure that if she had full use of her hands, she would’ve torn his clothes off by now. Waiting was proving to be one of the biggest exercises in self control that she had ever put herself through. But in her heart she knew that Frank was worth it.

She could feel the heat from his strong hand between her legs and it felt amazing. He started to rub and squeeze her the same way he had done that morning in his bedroom and she really wanted him finish this time, even though she knew that they needed to stop.

“Wait!” Joey panted and tried to stop her heart from racing.

Frank let go of her wrists and she giggled and playfully ducked away from him.

“This is so wrong on so many levels, Frank. I mean, a man died here today.” She gasped and covered her mouth in shock. “What if my mom gave me a haunted house!”

The bright twinkle in her eye made Frank burst out laughing and he chased her around the living room. When he caught her, he hooked his arm around her waist and tickled her sides until she begged him to stop.

He laughed and couldn’t believe how he had gone from feeling like a horny caveman to feeling like a little kid in the span of about five minutes. But Joey brought out sides of him that he never saw coming.

“Let’s find that chess set, Adler.” Joey sighed as she leaned her back against his chest. He started to leave kisses along the side of her neck and it felt way too good. No man had been able to turn her on so quickly in a long time. That just proved to her that waiting would only make things better. “If we hang out here for too long, we’re gunna end up naked.”

Frank agreed with another loud laugh and started to search through the living room and kitchen, while Joey left to peek into the two spare bedrooms. Going into the master bedroom so soon after Mr. Hamilton had died felt a little creepy so Joey wanted to avoid it.

Ed’s first spare room was fairly sparse, containing only a single bed and a small dresser. Joey thought that they would be perfect for Sam and made a mental note to ask her mom not to have the movers donate them.

The second guest bedroom must have been used as Ed’s storage room because it was loaded to the brim with stuff and everything had a thick layer of dust. She hoped that Frank had better luck finding the chess set because there was no way she was going to find anything in there, she could barely open the door.

“Whoa!” Frank whistled over her shoulder as he surveyed the mess. “Wait, is that a piano back there?”

Sure enough, Frank was right. Amongst all the junk Joey could make out an old grimy upright piano in the back of the room with junk piled all around it.

“Do you play?” Joey curiously inquired as Frank wrapped his arms around her again.

At this point nothing would surprise her about Frank, he continued to impress her more and more the longer she hung out with him. He was so much more thoughtful and intelligent than he let on and she found it incredibly sexy.

“No, but Mary has been bugging me for one for a few years now.” He groaned against the side of her neck before he kissed her behind her ear.

“Well, you’re welcome to this one.”

“ _Nooo._ No no no. We have nowhere to put it and there is a very good chance that I might actually go clinically insane if I had to listen to her practice all day.”

“I’ll keep it then.” Joey giggled at his honesty. “Let me find out if works, then you can let Mary know she can use it whenever she likes. I used to play when I was a kid.”

“No shit.”

Unfortunately, Frank thought he spotted Ed’s old chess set half hiding under some old newspapers on the top of said piano and Joey had already wiggled out of his arms and was navigating her way through the mess to fetch it.

“Don’t be too impressed. I haven’t played in years.” She explained and as she tried not to get dust all over her. “The last time I touched a piano was maybe six years ago in a pub in Scotland. And trust me, I was awful!”

“I’m sure alcohol played a role in your performance.” Frank dryly quipped and hoped that she didn’t get hurt just for an old chess set. But he loved watching the way her body moved as she climbed over all of the junk.

“Play a role? Alcohol was the star of the show!” She boasted with laughter in her voice, but cursed when she almost tripped over a wooden crate of old records.

Joey made her way back to Frank without breaking her neck and quickly kissed the corner of his mouth and proudly presented him with Ed’s lost chess set.

A warm feel spread through his chest whenever she smiled at him. She was just so perfect, but Frank suddenly found it so hard to reconcile the fact that a week ago he had no idea that Joey Kincade even existed.

They might be going slow physically, but emotionally Frank had already skipped five steps ahead. He had just met Joey, yet she had just kissed him as if they had known each other for years, and worst of all, he liked it.

He was being so stupid and reckless. Maybe his mother had been right about him all along?

That warm feeling in his chest had been quickly replaced by a sense of impending dread. All of this was bound to blow up in his face. He was being foolish. At this rate he was positive that he was going to get hurt. Joey was essentially a stranger, how could he trust her not to hurt him? Or worse, how could he trust her not to hurt Mary?

Frank tried to calm down and remind himself how Joey made him feel. In two days she had given him so much hope. But if Frank wasn’t careful he could see the rest of whole life playing out with her and that was a confusing feeling.

On one hand, it felt right and he was excited. But on the other hand, his heart wasn’t giving him any say in the matter and that made him feel like he was losing control and possibly sliding into a mistake. Frank hated that feeling and it was quickly making him bitter.

He should have known better, yet there he was, being vulnerable and open with a stranger. Why in the world was he so ready to commit and give up the bachelor life that he had grown accustomed to. For what? There was no possible way that she could be as perfect as he thought she was.

Caring about a person so quickly could only end in disappointment. Why was he risking so much? Maybe the custody battle had messed him up more than he thought.

“You don’t have to keep that piano for Mary’s sake. There’s a good chance that it doesn’t even work in the first place.” He joylessly spat out and tried to clear the hard lump forming in his throat..

Frank could feel himself start to pull back from her and swallowed hard. This was for the best, he was getting too comfortable around her. Better to put on the brakes and cut his losses before he completely fell in love with her and she broke his heart somehow. There was always next Friday night at Ferg’s.

“Naw, it’s okay. I kinda miss playing. It’s not like I could fit one in my suitcase, you know? I’ll see about getting it cleaned up and tuned. Besides I have a whole house to furnish now, so it’s not like I don’t have the room. Maybe I’ll teach Sam.” Joey wiped the dust off her hands and slowly caught on to the change in Frank’s mood.

The air seemed to change in the room and she could feel a wall being formed between them that wasn’t there a few moments ago. Frank didn’t seem to be Frank anymore. At least not the open and honest Frank that she had gotten to know.

She wasn’t sure what she had done to upset him so quickly but for some reason the hairs on the back of her neck started to stand up.

Joey could still slightly feel the beard burn that he had left on her face and neck just moments ago when he pressed her against the wall. She still felt the same way about him, but was so confused. The distant way that he was acting made no sense. Frank was standing right beside her, but he might as well have been on the other side of the world.

“It’s getting late…” She sighed in the hopes of changing the subject and downplaying the elephant in the room that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Yeah.” Frank cooly stated and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Frank refused to make eye contact and took a few steps away to create some distance from her. Her perfume was too intoxicating, and he still had the urge to touch her. He had to stop himself, he was getting too invested in a stranger. He was surprised at how easy it was to talk himself out of something that he really wanted.

“Well, I start work tomorrow. I should be done at five. Are you going to be around? Maybe we could get one of those dates out of the way?” Being on the other side of a Frank Adler wall was a very cold place to be, Joey hoped that her voice didn’t sound as shaky as she felt.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” he shrugged indifferently.

Frank was trying his best to aloof and non committal and Joey noticed how detached he was being. She willed him to look at her but he wouldn’t.

“I have a boat that I’m working on, so I might be busy this week.”

“Oh.” She could tell that he was lying and she started to nervously chew on her bottom lip.

Joey hadn’t known Frank for very long, but in the short time that she had known him, he had never once played hard to get with her. She could read the signs and knew that was about to get dumped again, that’s if they were ever even together in the first place.

“Yeah, actually work is really piling up,” he lied to the floor. “...and Mary with school and Girl Scouts...I’ve been really swamped lately.”

“It’s okay, Frank. I can take a hint.”

Frank winced at her choice of words and remembered what he had said to Bonnie the night that he broke up with her. Siting _“He wished he could meet a girl that knew how to take a hint.”_ Now he had, and it hurt like hell.

He finally worked up the courage to look into Joey’s blue eyes and in an instant he knew he had made a terrible mistake.

He cared about her. Right or wrong, he had let a beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, girl that he had just met into his heart and there was nothing wrong with that. Frank stood there in Ed’s old living room and felt the truth washed over him, mixed with all of the shame he felt for pushing her away. He hadn't truly cared about a woman in a long time, he didn't see it coming.  

There was no reason for him to hurt her like that. Hell, there was no reason to hurt himself like that.

Joey sadly met his gaze and Frank knew that she was looking at the real him and saw past all of his bullshit, yet again. Intimacy like that was so rare for him, why did he just try and throw it away like it was nothing?

Joey had indeed gotten the hint and had squared her shoulders and called for Gus. Frank opened his mouth to try and fix things, but no words came out. He was not expecting the brave face that she wore to mask her pain to completely crush him the way that it did.

It was an odd feeling for Frank. All of a sudden failing Joey became more painful than the possibility of her maybe failing him oneday.

“Joey, wait…”

She gave him a chance to speak but shook her head in disappointment when a long moment went by and he didn’t say anything. Frank’s heart dropped as he witnessed the consequence of his actions.

Joey had accomplished the impossible and had given him a taste of his own medicine. Because of his silence, in no time at all, she had built a wall of her own and Frank was the one left on the other side feeling cold.

He wanted to take it all back, but he didn’t know what to say. Learning how much he cared for her while at the same time pushing her away had sent him reeling.

“My mom’s right. Life is just too damn short.” Joey said the the floor with a heavy sigh. “You wanted me to know you? Well...from what I can see, you’re your own worst enemy, Frank, and that makes me really sad.”

Frank knew that she was right, but her insightfulness hadn’t soften the blow. In fact, Joey’s words hit him so hard that his footing faltered for a second before he rushed passed her and out the back door.

He was starting to panic and needed some fresh air. At first, he had no intention of just leaving Joey there without trying to smooth things over, but he just had to keep moving and he made his way across the street and back to his house.

Frank had wanted her to know him, and it was unnerving how well she had figured him out in such a short time. He let her in, and she called it right away, he was his own worst enemy. Tears filled his eyes and hated himself for being such an idiot.

He always second guessed himself at every turn and it wrecked anything good in his life. Sending Mary away to that foster family a few months ago was proof of that. He had hurt her and put her through hell, all because he simply couldn’t believe in himself and trust that he was a good parent to her.

He tried not to think of how he had also failed his sister and how Mary would never have her mother because he couldn’t see that Diane needed help. Maybe he had already ruined Mary’s life when she was six months old?

Joey’s words rang in his ears until he closed the door to his empty house. All he could see in his mind’s eye was how Joey had stood up a little straighter when she realized that he was rejecting her and pulling away.

He had wanted to know her. Well, now he knew how composed she tried to keep in herself the face of pain and disappointment. Fuck, the look that she had on her beautiful face while she tried to remain dignified might haunt him forever.

Like an self centred idiot, he had been so scared about _her_ hurting _him_. He never realized how devastated he would feel if he was the one doing the hurting. After everything that she had been through already, with her asshole ex, he couldn't believe that had gone and made her life worse.

This wasn’t the man that he wanted to be.

Frank closed his eyes and realized that fifteen minutes ago, for the first time in years, he hadn’t felt alone in the world. That feeling was over now, and he only had himself to blame. He had told Bonnie that he couldn’t love anyone. He was lying at the time, but maybe there was some truth to it if he was so willing to shut the door on Joey.

Because as freaked out as those feelings had made him, falling in love with Joey was exactly where he was headed. He just couldn’t trust himself enough to let it happen.

Mary’s three cats greeted him in the kitchen, and Frank knew that he deserved to become an old cat lady. He couldn’t even be in a real relationship for more than a weekend without messing it up.

He sat down on the couch and tossed Fred his ping pong ball and tried to accept his fate but he couldn’t get Joey’s face out of his mind.

Frank still wanted her. He wanted Joey so badly. Somehow the two of them fit so perfectly. He wished that she was sitting there beside him playing with the cats, but he figured that that would never happen now.

Fuck it. Frank thought as he ran his hand down his face. Mary was spending the night at Roberta’s so he decided to try his luck at Ferg’s. Maybe some booze, or a random hookup, would do the trick and help ease the ache in his chest. He didn’t deserve a happily ever after.

 


	8. "Sweet"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Joey and Frank have very different nights.

Joey had done her best to to hold her head up high as she dragged her broken heart back to her mother’s house. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and forget that that day had ever happened. But, as tempting as her mom’s spare bed was, she had a happy wide awake little boy greet her at the door.

She still had no idea why Frank had such a drastic change of heart and, literally, ran away from her. But getting home in time to introduced Sam to Gus before her mother put her foster son to bed was great distraction and kept the ache in her chest from making her fall apart.

Raising Sam was so much constant around the clock work, and that was just the basic looking after him stuff. It didn’t even taking into account all of the time that Joey spent worrying about his well being and stressing over whether or not she was a good parent. The pressure that she put on herself was a full time job in it of itself.

But the three year old was proving to be the brightest part of even her darkest days. As terrible as she felt about losing Frank, she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was blessed to have Sam in her life. He was the sweetest little boy in the whole world.

She quietly took Sam into her the mother’s spare room to find him some pyjamas to change into and hoped that her mother didn’t notice that she was home so early. That was a conversation that she didn’t feel like having at the moment.

Joey held him in her arms and savoured moments like this when she was confident she would be able to make him happy. Little did he know, she had a wonderful surprise for him. 

Sam hugged her back and lit up when he noticed a new strange dog follow her through the house and into the bedroom. Her mother was right, Sam completely lost his mind when he found out that they were going to keep the golden retriever.

Unfortunately, Joey was pretty sure that Sam’s excitement had blown her cover. His happy squeals were sure to signal her early return. It didn’t take long before Joey heard her mother’s footsteps coming down the hall.

But what had really blew Joey’s mind, was when he unexpectedly clapped his little hands and happily squealed, “Thank you, Mommy!”

As it turned out, Sam had a surprise for her too.

To say that his words had shocked Joey would have been an understatement. She could have sworn that time had stood still as her brain tried to process what had just happened. But for as frozen as Joey was, in that moment, she could feel her heart fill with more love than she thought it was capable of holding.

By this point, Sam had still been unsure as to what to call her. In all fairness, Joey had no idea either. In the three months since she had been caring for him, she had been willfully ignoring the topic and hoped that it would work itself out.

She told herself that in time, as their relationship grew, Sam would figure out for himself what he wanted to call her. Besides, until that night, Joey had been on the fence and was unsure if she even wanted to embrace the official title and actually become a full fledged mother in the first place.

But now that it had happened she was unprepared for how meaningful it would be for her to hear the words coming out of Sam’s mouth.

She couldn’t help but feel like he was choosing her to become his mother. Once that happened, accepting the role was the easiest thing that she had ever done in her life.

Joey’s heart ached and she was impressed that she managed to keep her tears in check, but she hated the fact that her first impulse (after finally breathing and hugging and kissing Sam) was to share the happy news with Frank of all people.

Why would she allow a person that _hadn’t_ chosen her to rent space in her mind during one of the most meaningful experiences of her life?

Joey had heard her mother gasp from the hallway but she still wasn’t ready to face her. Between her mother generously giving her a home, adopting a dog, Frank’s rejection and Sam surprising her with her by making her his mother, Joey felt too emotionally raw.

Instead, she put Sam down so that he could play with his new dog and she searched through their bags for his pjs. She was sure that she had bought him a pair with puppies all over them and thought that they were fitting for tonight of all nights.

As emotional and shaky as she felt, she laughed when she listened to Sam formally introduced himself to Gus as if he expected to the dog to answer him. Much to their surprise, Gus gave Sam his paw and, for half a second, it looked like they were, indeed, shaking hands like two little gentlemen.

Joey and her mom shared a laugh over their cuteness. The two of them were just too much. Her mom was right, Gus was wonderful with kids.

Sam kept calling her mommy and it meant more and more to her every time to said it. As much as Joey needed her own mom at that moment, Joey couldn’t bring herself to look at her and tried to keep busy with Sam’s nighttime routine.

She didn’t even know what she was going to tell her mom in the first place since she was having a hard time understanding Frank’s change of heart as well. All Joey knew was if her mom hugged her she would break in half and start crying and she refused to be a basketcase in front of Sam.

Besides, getting dumped every two minutes was embarrassing, let alone admitting that she had still had feelings for the latest man to break her heart.

Instead, Joey sat down on the floor and pulled the little boy into her lap while he played with their new dog. She had found the special puppy pj’s and changed his clothes while she cuddled him and told him about the house that they were going to move into and how he would soon have a bedroom all to himself.

Her mother spoke up from the doorway and let him know that they would be living only a few houses away and that she would be able to visit him everyday. Her mother even added that her spare room would be his from now on in case he ever missed his Grandma Jessie and needed to sleepover.

“Or for when your mommy needs a break...just sayin’.” Jessie playfully added. 

Joey could hear the emotion in her mother's voice when she referred to her as Sam's mommy and she hugged the little boy closer to her and kissed the back of his head. She was doing a pretty good job of holding herself together but her heart nearly burst when Sam told them both how happy he was that they weren’t moving very far and he wouldn’t have to say goodbye to his new grandmother.

Moving home was proving to be the best decision. Joey started to think about her what her new life was going to look like and she wondered how she was ever going to face Frank again. That is if he ever planned on talking to her again. She cursed herself for thinking about him again.

Thinking about Frank made her hands and voice shaky, so she took a deep breath and tried not to let her heavy heart affect their happy moment. But she couldn’t help the dark places her thoughts went while Sam giggled and played with Gus.

She was getting pretty good at being rejected Joey thought to herself as Gus licked her foster son’s face. First Kevin left her, then Frank rejected her not once but _twice_. At this point her ego was getting used to being used as a punching bag. Seeing Frank everyday across the road should do wonders for her self esteem.

In all honesty, Joey wasn’t even angry with the two men. Just sad. She figured that she was the common denominator in both of those failed relationships, so the problem must have been with her somehow. She feared that they had possibly seen something ugly or damaged in her that caused them to run for the hills.

She couldn’t fall apart, she told herself as new tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She had to set a good example for Sam and pretend like she had her shit together.

A fresh stabs of pain sliced her heart when she touched her lips and remembered how Frank had kissed her. They had fit together so perfectly and were so well matched. She’s not sure if she had ever felt anything like it before. There was a second there when she wondered if she was actually having one of those epic falling in love moments that she had never had with Kevin.

But then it had felt like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on her heart moments later when Frank brushed her off and lied to her about being busy. Gosh, watching his wall go up was surprisingly painful. Why in the world was she taking his rejection so hard? She had just met the man.

What concerned Joey most was how she felt when he ran out of the house. Why did her heart scream at her to go after him? She was seconds away from chasing Frank down to make sure that he was okay. Seeing him upset bothered her and she wanted to put her own hurt feelings aside and try to comfort him.

Joey felt so stupid. That was not the way that she wanted to start off her new life. Chasing after people that didn’t want her was no way to live. She tried not to regret her choice to let Frank go, but doubt was still gnawing away at her.

She couldn’t help but assume that Frank was fighting, yet another, internal war with himself. Joey hadn’t know him long but she had already figured out that he was far more complicated than he let on.

Complicated was fine, she could deal with complicated. She figured she wasn’t a walk in the park either. But at least, in her case, she didn’t go around being all cute and charming and promising three dates and getting people's hopes up with the possibility of becoming “us” only to then pull the rug out from under them.

A little faint voice from her heart was trying to telling her that he probably wasn’t just rejecting her, but was rejecting happiness in general. But if that was true, she wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse. All she knew for sure was that she still wanted him, how pathetic was that?

But Joey had doubted her instincts and she hadn't run after him. When Frank was open with her he was so easy for her to read. It was as if they had known each for so much longer than a single weekend. But once his wall went up, she began to doubt everything.

But what did she know? Maybe he wasn’t as complicated as she thought he was. Maybe he simply wasn’t that into her. Or worse. Maybe he had always just the jackass from the bar, and Alice was right about him the whole time?

The only man that mattered was the little boy in her arms. She kissed the top of Sam’s head and made a silent promise to herself that she would do right by him and not let this setback stop her from giving him the life that he deserved.

Joey admittedly didn’t know much about being a mom, but she knew that she didn’t need a man to make their little family complete. That’s never what Frank was to her in the first place. So it was time to get things back on track. She wanted Sam to be proud of her one day, the same way that she had always been proud of her own mother.

Besides, she started her new job in the morning, they now had Gus and a house. To to mention that Sam had unbelievably started calling her “Mommy.” Focusing on the good in her life was how Joey planned on getting over Frank. Easy come easy go, and all of the pep talks that she was going to hear from her mom once she broke the new to her.

Sam begged her to let Gus sleep with him and Joey didn’t see the harm. She looked to her mom who was still leaning in the doorway and Jessie nodded and gave her approval. It was her mother’s couch after all. But dog hair or not, Joey had a feeling that there wasn’t much that her mother wouldn’t do for Sam.

“Are you okay, sweetheart.” Jessie careful asked while Sam giggled with Gus and told the dog about his play date with Roberta and Mary.

“I will be, ma.”

Jessie accepted her answer, but she had sensed that there was something terribly wrong with Joey seconds after she walked in the door. She had hoped to give her daughter and Frank some alone time together and hadn’t expected her home so soon. Her gut told her that something wasn’t right.

Jessie wished that nosey mothers that got too overly involved in her daughter’s personal lives were a little bit more accepted and fashionable. She, understandably, wanted to fix everything for her daughter and spare her any unnecessary pain. It didn’t matter how old or mature she was, Joey would always be her sweet little baby girl.

But her sweet little girl still had a hard time looking her in eye. That had always been a bad sign ever since Joey was a child. The more she hid, the more pain she was in.

Even during her childhood, Joey acted as if her pain was somehow contagious so she kept her feelings bottled up in order to spare her loved ones. Looking back, it had been the times when Joey was stoically quiet that Jessie had worried about her the most.

Now that Joey had moved back home, Jessie wanted her to settle down and put some local roots down and stop living out of a suitcase. Sadly, maybe Frank wasn’t the kind of man for Joey to do that with. It made Jessie a little sad, she had thought that the two of them had had so much in common.

Instead of budding in, Jessie watched her interact with Sam from the doorway and she hoped, that in the end, the joy that that little boy brought her would balance out any of Joey’s disappointments.

Jessie watch Joey cuddle and tickle Sam on the floor and had tears in her eyes. She had never been more proud of her sweet little girl. She could tell that Joey was putting on a brave face and placing Sam’s needs ahead of her own. If that wasn’t enough proof that Joey was becoming a mother, hearing her new grandson call her daughter “Mommy,” had completely sealed the deal.

Most women Jessie’s age would count themselves lucky to be invited into the delivery room when their daughters became mothers for the first time. Instead, for Jessie, she truly believed that she had just witnessed her only child become a mother from the doorway of her spare room.

\----------------------------

Alice was surprised that Barry could make her laugh. Not a fake laugh. But a full _“I really hope I don’t spray beer out of my nose like I did with my chocolate milk in fifth grade,”_ kind of laugh.

It was her second date with the home appliance salesman and she was warming up to him and was starting to feel bad about turning him down so many times over the years. But, in her defence, Alice never thought that Barry was her type.

She had always thought that the nervous way he tried to flirt with her was sweet, but it wasn’t enough to make Alice agree to go out with him. Barry had always been too average looking, too nice, too safe.

Alice could never really put her finger on it, so she boiled it down to Barry being too straight-laced and responsible for her liking. She had visions of him going to bed every night in a suit and tie. There was just no danger or mystery with him.

She’s not sure what made her say yes two weeks ago, but she was not surprised in the slightest when he showed up in a necktie to take her to the movies. Who wears a tie to the movies?

All of those boring qualities were still true, and here they were on their second date and he was, unfortunately, still wearing a tie.

Little did Barry know, that was why they were at Ferg’s on a quiet Sunday night sitting in the back of the bar where Alice thought that no one would see the two of them together. But her face hurt from laughing so, she had to admit, the night hadn’t been all bad.

Alice started to wonder if she was grateful or disappointed that Barry hadn’t made a move on her when she saw Frank Adler walk into the bar and head to the bartender.

She had already known, from her Aunt Jessie's texts, all that had happened that day with Ed’s unfortunate passing and Frank helping her and Joey board up the old man’s house.

Alice had also figured by the lack of dirt that she was getting from her cousin, that Joey might actually be interested in the jackass. Lucky Frank. Alice still didn’t think that he was good enough for her cousin, but had decided to bite her tongue on the matter and hope for the best.

But Alice was puzzled. It was Sunday night, Frank was never there on Sundays, of all days. You could set a clock to his social life and Friday night was always his night of choice to let his hair down.

So why did he look like shit and why was he pounding back a beer and making heart eyes at the few available females within eyeshot?

Alice started to sweat. If she witnessed Frank hooking up with another woman than she would have to tell Joey. She might even have to throw another margarita in the jackass’s face.

Barry noticed his date staring at the hot man at the bar and his nerves accidentally caused he to knock his beer bottle over.

“Oh man! I’m so sorry, Alice. I’m such a klutz.” Barry stammered and frantically tried to stopped the cold liquid from running further onto Alice’s lap, but he only ended up making it worse.

“Cold, cold!” Alice jumped from the shock and almost spilled her own drink in the process. Her skirt was pretty much ruined and she already started to smell like a brewery.

“Do you want me to get some napkins? Maybe take you home? ...I mean to get cleaned up...not to …I never meant to imply...” Barry had turned bright red and looked like he was going to be sick.

“Napkins are good. Breathe Barry, it’s just a little beer. I’m not mad. Just freezing.” Alice smiled and tried to reassure him before he passed out.

In all the commotion, Frank had noticed Alice at the back of the bar and she could hear him groaning in disappointment over the music.

Alice was that last person that Frank expected to see at Ferg’s on a Sunday night. He wasn’t even sure if the place was even open when he drove up, the place looked so dead.

He had always thought that Alice was a lot cooler than he was, but there she was with Barry of all people. Frank looked away and tried not to smirk at him nervously apologizing and trying to mop up their table. Poor guy, it looked like Alice was on a job interview rather than a hot date.

Frank ignored them and ordered a round of shots and noticed a blonde at the end of the bar and flirtatiously motioned for her to join him. Maybe after a few shots the blonde might start to look as cute as Joey and he could start to get her out of his system.

Even thinking those thoughts made his chest ache for the woman that he really wanted. For a second the blonde looked as though she was considering his offer, but then her date came back from the bathroom and she tried to downplay her initial interest in him.

Frank figured it was for the best and quickly did two of the three shots spread out before him when he saw Alice walking up to the bar through the corner of his eye.

“Hey, Pete. Can I get some more napkins, please. Or maybe a towel.” Alice laughed to the bartender.

“Sure thing, Al.” The bartender nodded with a chuckle. “Poor Barry.”

“Ah, well. He’s means well.” Alice sighed and turned to Frank. “You’re going pretty hard tonight, aren’t cha, Frank.”

“That I am, Alice. Care to join me? I promise not to throw any of my very tasty beverages in your face.”

“I’m not gunna lie, I’m not even sorry about that.” she laughed. “I forgive you, but you deserved it. I can’t though, believe it or not, I’m actually on a date right now.”

“Ahhhh, and it appears to be going.. _.swimmingly._ ” Frank sneered and watched her try and dry off her skirt. “Hey, Pete. Wanna send Barry over there another beer and put it on my tab. I wanna see how long it takes him to spill another one in her lap.”

“Ha ha.” Alice sarcastically laughed. “Barry’s a sweet guy. You should try it sometime.”

“Funny, I did try that...quite recently, in fact.” Frank did his third shot and enjoyed the burning sensation flowing down his throat. “It didn’t work out. Maybe, sweet isn’t my thing.”

Alice took a deep breath in through her nose and dropped her shoulders. She figured that Frank was trying to tell her that things hadn’t gone well with Joey. Alice had seen something like this happening from a mile away and wasn’t impressed.

“Well my cousin deserves sweet. Joey deserves the whole world.”

Frank winced in pain and motioned to Pete for another round of shots. Frank couldn’t have agreed with Alice more. But, after tonight, he knew that he wasn’t the kind of man that was capable of giving Joey what she deserved. He would always find a way to over think and wreck things.

Pete gave Alice a grave look before he poured Frank his shots and she appeared to nod at the bartender in agreement.

It wasn’t until Frank took his next shot, and Alice grabbed the keys to his truck, that Frank understood what their little exchange had meant.

“Finish up here, Romeo. When you’re done feeling sorry for yourself, I’ll drive you home.” There was a pity in Alice’s voice that pissed him off so much that he almost sobered up for a second.

“What if I don’t want to go home alone, huh? You gunna chauffier me and a date back to my place? I‘d _love_ to see that.” Frank started to slur his words and he regretted drinking so fast. It was such a rookie move. He had barely eaten and hadn’t gotten much sleep during the day. He was fading fast and was suddenly a lot drunker than he thought he’d be. There was no way that he was going to get behind the wheel now.

“A date? You look like shit, Frank. Trust me, you can try picking up, but I’ll bet you 20 bucks that you’re gunna strike out.” Poor Barry looked defeated sitting alone at their table with his fresh beer. Alice gave him a small smile and held up Frank’s keys and mouthed _“D.D. and So sorry!”_

Barry clued in and, true to form, smiled back and nodded his head. He was such a good guy Alice mused. Frank had, yet again, managed to ruin another night out for her, but Alice still felt sorry for him nonetheless.

“Are you, okay? Do you want me to call someone for you?” Alice asked with concern. He looked so sad. Ashamed even. Alice could tell that something serious was bothering Frank, but if he had hurt Joey somehow she was going to throw a lot more than a margarita in his face.

“Why are you being so nice to me, huh?” Frank played with his shot glass and couldn’t look at her. “You told me that she was off limits and I shoulda listened to you. Would’ve saved us all a lot of trouble.”

“Oh, I get it. She dumped your ass, huh?” Alice patted his arm but he yanked it away.

“No, worse. Much much worse.” he angrily spit out. “Get this. I fell for her. _ME_ of all people! Who, in their right mind, falls for a girl that they just met.”

“I dunno, but I’m sure there’s been a love song or two written about it over the years.” Alice teased. “I had no idea that actually catching some feelings would be such a bad look on you. Don’t beat yourself up. Joey is…,”

Alice couldn’t find the right words to describe all of the ways that she loved her cousin and how many ways that she felt honored that Joey had always loved her back over the years. Even when Alice had felt that hadn’t deserve her loyalty.

“...my cousin is just special. She’s a good egg. You really didn’t stand a chance, Frank. Did you honestly think that you she’d be like all of your other hooks up?”

“No. After a few minutes with her I knew that I wanted more than that. But I had to put on the brakes. I was being stupid…It’s better this way. No one gets hurt.”

“Oh,” Alice was supposed to be anti Joey & Frank so she was surprised that her heart felt a twinge of disappointment for them. “Frank...are you sure that no one got hurt? You really do look like shit.”

“You said that already, thanks.” Frank brought another shot glass to his lips and hoped that the hard lump in his throat didn’t cause him choke on his whiskey. “You should be celebrating. You never wanted me near her in the first place.”

“True. But how is putting on the brakes, before you even start seeing someone, keeping people from getting hurt? If you like each other, than you like each other. It’s like you gave up before any of the big happy parts were supposed to happen.”

Alice didn’t buy any of his excuses. You could drive mac trucks through his logic. She suspected that he was just a big chicken shit. He wasn’t the first man child to freak out at the thought of falling in love with a real woman and having to grow up and have a real relationship.

“It’s not that simple. I did us both a favor. If we moved too fast and I got in over my head...I mean if _we_ got in over our heads.” Frank was slipping up and he knew that Alice wasn’t buying the rationalizations that he had used to convince himself to make his most recent mistake. So he let the alcohol take over and he went with truth instead. “Look, I just didn’t want to get hurt, okay.”

“So you’re not hurting right now? You’re trying to tell me that you’re here drinking your weight in booze on a Sunday night because you’re so ecstatic about not being a sweet guy?”

“Look, I liked her. But I’m not the right guy for her. The truth is I’m not really good at this. But I tried sweet before.” Frank’s voice was close to a whisper. “I got my feet wet with Bonnie. I dated her for awhile-”

“For like two minutes!” Alice scoffed and cut him off. “Sorry. My bad. You were being all open and thoughtful. Please continue.”

“No, you’re right. Two minutes, if that, really.” Frank laughed and shook his head at the family resemblance between Alice and Joey. He could picture Joey busting his balls and calling him out like that too. It made him long for a woman that an hour ago he had convinced himself that he didn’t want.

“But those two minutes were nice.” Frank continued. “Bonnie she was... she was nice, too. But I couldn’t help but think since then, that those two minutes would’ve been better and maybe longer than two minutes if she was someone else. Maybe that’s a jackass thing to say. But it’s the truth.”

“Cue, the cute new girl in the Led Zeppelin t shirt.”

“Yup.” Frank sadly looked over his shoulder at the empty chair where Joey had been sitting at the night he first saw her. “And the unexpected margarita bath.” Frank dryly reminded her.

“Again. I’m not sorry about that.” Alice laughed and waited for him to explain why he had gone and dumped her favorite person.

Alice really wanted to get back to Barry, but could tell that Frank needed to get whatever was bothering him off his chest. He had always been the quiet hot damaged guy but never had that been more true than right now.  
Only this time, he was actually talking and communicating. It was like spotting a unicorn. Granted, he was communicating in a rather drunkenly doom and gloom kinda way. But Alice knew that whatever had happened with Joey must have really shook him up. If breaking things off with Joey really was for the best, then why did he still look so pathetically miserable?

“Look...the thing is... after everything that happened with my mother... I just thought that maybe I could change things up a bit…I was restless after Bonnie...I started to hope that I could have something that was just for me. Something good...something better than...fuck, I’m an asshole. But something better than Bonnie.”

Frank winced in pain, again, and took a deep breath before he downed another shot of whiskey. All he could see was Joey’s beautiful face try to brave the disappointment that he had needlessly put her through. He would give anything to take it all back.

Bonnie was perfectly fine, but Joey just fit, somehow. He couldn’t explain it.

“Frank…” Alice wasn’t sure what to say. He looked like he was going to cry.

“And the sad thing is, I really thought I was ready for it, too. Ready for all of the big boy emotions and all of the ball and chain commitment stuff that I used to laugh at before….Then Joey shows up with those big _facking_ blue eyes of hers….So much for that, huh?”

Frank made a loud explosion sound like a child and Alice tried not to laugh at his drunkenness and the fact that his Boston accent was now running rampant.

“I messed up and now she’s gone forever. Say, do ya think the jukebox has any Zeppelin? She likes Zeppelin.”

“Gone? She’s not gone. My aunt just gave her a house and she had a kid now. Don’t flatter yourself, Frank, Joey is a _Kincade_. She’s not going to duck and run over a guy. You obviously regret being a dick, so talk to her.”

“I can’t. I _facked_ everythin’ up... and get this! I forgot the best part! You’ll laugh your ass off when I tell you!...wait for it...I fell for her _AND_ I brushed her off at the same fackin’ time!”  
Frank was his hysterically laughing, but Alice didn’t find him funny at all. In fact, she found him profoundly tragic.

“Now she thinks that I don’t want her.” Frank sighed and tried to catch his breath. “How the fuck did I manage to pull that one off, huh? In what universe do _I_ not want a girl like _Joey?_ Now I get to see her across the street. Every. Single. DAY!” Frank got progressively louder and punctuated each word by slapping his hand down on the bar.

“Seeing her across the street is just going to be a constant reminder of how great my acting skills are. _Fackin’_ Oscar worthy, I tell ya.” he bitterly laughed. “She’ll just be a _smokin’ hot_ daily reminder of the life I could never have. Of the man that I can never be.”

“Wow. You really ride high on your bullshit, don’t you? _‘The man you could never be.’_ Fuck off!” Alice scoffed at him again.

Frank was taken aback by the tone of Alice’s voice and he didn’t appreciate her laughing at him and mockingly throwing his words back at him.

“I’ve listened to enough of your crap, Frank. Reality check time.” Alice tried to keep her voice down, but she was reaching the limit of her patience. “If you want to be a different man, guess what, today is your lucky day! I’m here to let you know that people can change. They do it all the time. There’s no magic wand or support group. All you have to do is just fucking act like a decent person and one day you’ll wake up and you ARE a better person. Just stop acting like you’re the first person to have real feelings smack you in the head.”

“Oh you got it all figured out, huh? I’m an Adler. Adlers don’t follow their hearts. We make smart prudent decisions and leave the fluff to the common folk.”

“Uh huh, and it looks like all of your smart prudent decisions are doing wonders for you right now. You’re sitting here looking like someone just ran over your puppy.” Alice sarcastically pointed out. “Stop being such a drama queen. You ran over your own damn puppy, genius.”

“You really don’t pull your punches, do you?” Frank knew that she was right but hated to be reminded that he had been the root cause of his own unhappiness. “I fought tooth and nail to give Mary a normal life, and I have absolutely no idea how to pull one off for myself. I just don’t know where to go from here. Let’s face it. I’m hopeless. I can’t even fall in love properly.”

“Fuck that, no one falls in love properly. It’s messy and hard, but you gotta fight for it. Why don’t you just try being the kind of guy that you’d want Mary to end up with one day. Maybe you could start by not running to Ferg’s every time you stub your toe.”

Alice had hit a nerve by bringing Mary up. Frank had had enough and reached for his keys, but Alice held them just out of his grasp. He immediately knew it was for the best when his eyesight went fuzzy and he started to see three sets of them.

“Roberta would kick my ass if I let you drive home, Frank. Smarten up.”

“I’m not driving anywhere. I appreciate the pep talk” he hiccuped. “… and the you know, the whole not letting me drive thing, too...but my house keys are on there. If I take a cab I’m gunna need those bad boys. Do you think really I should fight?...I mean, since I’ve obviously got the messy part covered.... but what’s the point if she hates my guts? I don’t really blame her, honestly. I’m not a very big fan of me right now either.”

“I’m going to regret saying this, but I really think she likes you. I was there, I saw it for myself in _‘those big fackin blue eyes of hers.’_ ”

“When?” Frank asked in disbelief. “You do a terrible impression of me, by the way.”

“Last night. Before she went over to your house. She thought that maybe the two of us still had a thing going on and she was ready to blow you off.”

“Great, kick a guy while he’s down. You’re real sweet, Al.”

“I am sweet. You should have seen how happy she was when I told her that there wasn’t enough money in the world to ever get me to date a jackass like you. When she knew that you weren’t spoken for, she looked like she had just won the damn lottery.”

Frank puffed out a laugh that was quickly replaced by a pain in chest that reminded him of how badly he had screwed things up. Or maybe it was all the booze? He couldn’t tell at this point.

“I might be one of the ‘common folk’ that runs around following my heart. But I see you, Frank. You already did follow your heart and it lead you to my cousin. Before you freaked out, you had her over to your house, you introduced her to Mary...”

“I didn’t even sleep with her.”

“No shit. Well done!” Alice was impressed and high fived him.

“We talked all night. It was great. I haven't made out with someone like that since I was a teenager. It was frustrating, though if you know what I mean… in like a you start but then you gotta keep stopping kinda way.”

“If you say anything about blue balls, I’m gunna order a margarita to throw at you!” Alice playfully threatened.

“Naw, my balls are fine. But it _has_ been brought to my attention that my liver may be facked, though.”

“You drunken jackass!” Alice finally cracked up and laughed when Pete the bartender started to chuckle at Frank’s intoxicated oversharing. “Look, Frank. I get it. But it’s always scary when you take a risk with your heart, but that’s life. Trust me, big guy, you’ll live.”

“Can you call me a cab, or drive me home, I don’t feel so great. But if you were a real friend, you’d at least do me a solid and tell me that she isn’t so god damn perfect...tell me some bad embarrassing story about her or something. Tarnish her halo a little bit so I can sleep tonight without kicking myself.”

“Oh she’s terrible. What do you want to hear, Frank?” Alice snapped. “How all through high school she snuck out to pick me up from parties when I got too drunk to drive? How I probably wouldn’t have graduated if it wasn’t for her forcing me to focus on something other than stupid boys and bullshit? Or how about that time I had no idea I pregnant and she held my hand through my miscarriage?”

Frank was stunned was getting pale, but Alice didn’t stop.

“How about the four months after my mother died and she me made sleep in her bed with her because she could hear me crying in the middle of the night and she didn’t want me to be alone?”

“Shit. Alice. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“Or what about the time her dad…” Alice was shaking with rage but managed to stop herself from airing all of their family’s dirty laundry in the middle of the bar. “How dare you. Fuck you for thinking that I would shit talk her to make your sorry ass feel better. Grow the fuck up. You're the problem here not her.”

Frank agreed with her and rubbed his face with both hands and groaned another apology. He just couldn't stop fucking up he lamented to himself.

“I just wish that I could take it all back.” Frank solemnly confessed. The alcohol was making it a lot easier for to be honest and he started to feel the pain that he had been trying his hardest to numb. “You’re right. I am hurting and I did it to myself. She told me that I was my own worst enemy, and she was right.”

“Well, Joey’s a smart girl.” Alice shrugged. “I’m sorta glad she called you out on some of your bullshit.”

“Yeah, she’s smart. She’s also a _fackin’ smoke show!_ ” Frank groaned and rubbed his face again and wished that he was sober enough to stop talking about her. But he couldn’t help it. “I’m sorry though. You know about tonight. You’re actually being kinda cool and nice to me...but don’t worry I won’t tell anyone and ruin your cool as ice image.”

“That’s your reputation, buddy, not mine.” she laughed.

“I thought I was the quiet brooding loner? She actually called me a hipster.” he laughed. Remembering her sitting on his deck made his laughter quickly trail off. “Do you think that I’ll ever stop missing her or wondering how things could’ve been? You’re better at all this stuff than I am. Tell me that this gets better.”

“Damn it, Frank. Did it even occur to you to apologize? Did you even try to make it right before you ran here and tried to dig your grave even deeper? Did you?”

The look on Frank’s face told her that he hadn’t. He was too fucked up to even try.

Alice looked over at Barry and she saw her date with new eyes. She had known him for years. He wasn’t messed up in the ways that guys like Frank were. She had gone through her share of Franks in her day and realized that she should have gone out with Barry years ago. He was decent and sweet and could really make her laugh. Suddenly, his tie didn’t look so bad on him.

“It doesn’t sound like there’s anything done that can’t be undone.” Alice explained. “If she means as much to you as you say, then talk to her. Don’t make it worse by drinking or going home with someone.”

“Do you think she’ll even talk to me?” he hiccuped and started to feel dizzy.

“I dunno. But that’s up to her, and you’re lucky that I don’t get a vote. But, hey.” Alice tried to steady him as he stood up from the barstool and started to stagger. “At least you’ll know for sure that you tried everything you could.... and you might even find yourself one step closer to becoming the man that you want to be. With or without her. But either way, you gotta get out of your own way and let yourself be happy.”

“Hook ups are so much easier.” he mused out loud. He couldn’t stop hiccuping as he reached into his pocket and clumsily paid his bill. “Caring is really facking scary, you know? I’ve never felt this way before about a woman...Joey...Joe...Josephine...she’s the best and...the hottest…” he chuckled, lost in his good memories of her. “Oh shit. No offense. Al! You were great and all...but Joey...she’s just so...

“No offense taken, Romeo... _trust me._ Besides, I already know I’m awesome.”

“Did you know that she’s really funny? Like legit funny. I didn't fake laugh once with her. She actually made me spit out my beer the other night!" Frank exclaimed through his hiccups. "She used to be a photographer too, how cool is that? She had this cool cat when she was a kid...what da fack was that Dr. Cat’s name? ”

“Snuggle Button, Frank. Dr. Snuggle Button. You do realize that I’ve met her before, right?” Alice teased and took his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders to help steady him. “I used to share my fruit roll ups with that cat when I was 6.”

Alice barked out a laugh and rolled her eyes at him when he asked her if Joey liked fruit roll ups too when she was kid. He wasn’t lying. He really did fall for Joey and as annoyed as she was with him, Alice was starting to find his feelings for Joey really endearing.

Frank started going on about a dog that Joey had adopted that day and mumbled something about how cool she was for doing so. He wondered out loud how happy Sam was going to be when he found out. Alice let him mumble to himself and motioned to Barry to follow them out the door.

Poor Barry was so happy to finally be included that he lit up and quickly grabbed their coats. He jumped into action so quickly, in fact, that when he stood up the table shook and he managed to spill his the rest of his second beer all of over her new coat.

Normally, a man’s uncool behaviour would’ve been a big turn off for Alice. Now, thanks to her little convo with Frank, she was more than willing to overlook it. As much as Alice liked that coat, Barry was still worth another date.

Frank laughed and greeted Barry like an old friend and took him under his wing as the walked out to the parking lot. Frank obnoxiously reassured him that spilling his beer all over a girl wasn’t nearly as bad compared to how he had fucked up that day.

For some reason, Barry found Frank’s slurred advice comforting and Frank made him promise to stay a sweet guy and treat her right. Alice tried hide her smile from the two men. She didn’t want to encourage their new found bromance.

Frank had fallen asleep almost as soon as they left Ferg’s parking lot, and as Alice listened to him snore as she actually found herself hoping that he got another date with Joey, too.


	9. "Lucky Streak"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank visits Joey at work.

 

Joey had been on an emotional roller coaster all morning. The highs were so high but the lows seemed to keep punching her in the gut.

Having Sam wake up that morning and continue to call her mommy had delighted her in a way that Joey had never seen coming, but every now and again her mind would drift off to Frank and his odd change of heart and her happiness would take a sharp nose dive.

Joey couldn’t help but wonder where things stood between them and, as much as she tried not to care about him at all, she still hoped that he was okay. After all, he had just run away from her minutes after kissing the life out of her. Who did that? Something had to be going on with him, but she wasn't sure if she would ever get the opportunity to have her questions answered.

On her way to her car, she heard a honk and looked up to see Mary waving happily to her from the passenger side of Roberta’s car. Joey matched her big bright smile and waved back. Given the early hour, she figured that Roberta must be taking Mary one of her early college classes.

Even though Joey was disappointed to not see Frank with them, it was nice to see Mary’s sweet smiling face after witnessing her so distraught the previous day. She still had Ed’s old chess set to give the little girl, but figured, at this point, it would be better if her mother delivered it to her instead.

Joey swallowed hard and watched them drive away. Once she was sure that they were gone, she let her smile fade and she squared her shoulders. She had a big day ahead of her and vowed not let her unrequited feelings for Frank Adler ruin her day.

She was a mom now. It was time to stop wallowing and put her big girl pants on and get to work.  
\----------------------

Joey tried to focus on the positive on her drive to work. She really wanted to make a good first impression and didn’t want to appear miserable and depressed on her very first day. She had to at least pretend to have her shit together.

The more she tried to change her mood, the more she realized that she really did have a lot to be thankful for. In fact, she was on a pretty awesome lucky streak, all things considered. Mostly thanks to her mother.

She had no idea how she would ever be able to thank her mom for everything that she had done for her in the past few weeks. Not only did she give her and Sam a place to live, but she had also pulled some strings and managed to find her a full time job with one of her friends, as well.

Joey had only been working as a florist for two years, but she had mostly worked for bigger franchises and no idea what to expect from the small local shop. From what her mother had told her, they were surprisingly busy since the senior population was so high in their area. Their main business consisting of a series of nursing homes, a nearby hospital, and rehabilitation center.

When her mother had casually told her, over breakfast, that the shop’s name was “Pushing Daisies,” Joey had nearly choked on her toast.

Naming your shop after a cute euphemism for dying seemed a little bit on the nose. But Joey’s mother told her to hang on to her socks because the shops owner, the sixty year old Mrs. Sheryl Nelson, was just as colourful as her shop’s name suggested.

The downtown core hadn’t changed much since she'd been a teenager, Joey noticed as she parked her car and made her way to the quaint little shop on the corner. After the peaceful drive, she was in a much better mood and planned on keeping it that way.

Sheryl Nelson, Joey’s eccentric new boss, was a sweet, friendly, old lady with very few boundaries. Joey’s nerves were put instantly at ease when she was practically tackled with an excited hug as soon as she'd introduced herself.

Apparently, Pushing Daisies was a fairly informal operation and that was made very apparent when, not five minutes later, Joey had been served a generous shot of whiskey in her coffee and a lot of TMI information on her boss's love life.

Joey took one sip and knew that it would have to be her last if she wanted to make it through the day. She knew she couldn’t hold her liquor, even if her life depended on it.

Sheryl was an old friend of her mother’s and one of the founding members of her and Roberta’s bridge club. Therefore, Joey made a mental note to bring a thermos of coffee with her in the future if she ever planned on staying sober and caffeinated while working.

Throughout the day, Sheryl made it her personal mission to get Joey up to speed on all of the local gossip while she watched Joey in action. In no time, Joey knew who was dating who within a thirty mile radius, who was cheating on who and who owed who money. It was confusing, but Joey tried to keep up with her talkative boss.

The more Sheryl drank her special brand of coffee, the more she gossiped. As entertaining as she was, Joey tried to steer the conversation to more a more business related matters and found out that Sheryl and her one other employee had essentially run the shop by themselves for years and they had only hired part time help when needed. But now Sheryl had wanted to cut back and enjoy a semi-retirement, not to mention live it up with her new boyfriend.

Sheryl’s children had been bugging her to retire for awhile now and, since she had three local weddings in the upcoming months and Ed Hamilton’s funeral next week, Joey was coming on at just the right time.

As gossipy as she was, Sheryl was still warm and friendly. Joey couldn’t help but like her. But boy, did the woman love to talk.

Joey humored her and enjoyed the distraction as she arranged a large flower arrangement that was due that afternoon. She knew that she was being assessed on her performance in a casual way, but Joey didn’t mind and rose to the occasion. She loved that Sheryl encouraged her to be creative and add personal touches to her work. Sheryl didn’t really feel like a boss at all and it was refreshing to feel like she was being taken under her wing  
  
Joey was looking forward to some of the larger events that were set to occur in the upcoming months. Weddings had always been Joey’s favourite. Not that she was the kind of girl that sat around dreaming of her own wedding, but helping people achieve their dream day gave her a special satisfaction.

After what Joey had gone through the night before with Frank, the upcoming workload was music to her ears. She was doing a very good job of not thinking about him and poured herself into her work.

Joey was going to be just fine without him. Plenty of fish in the sea. Besides, Sheryl had just offered to set her up with her son Barry once she got settled. But Joey figured that she’d take a break from men until she got over her latest heartbreak.

The truth was, Joey was starting to feel like damaged goods when it came to romance and wanted focus on building her new life instead of finding a man. Between Kevin and Frank, she had to admit that maybe she had no idea what she was doing.

\------------------------  
Frank woke up alone in the middle of the afternoon with a pounding headache. He was getting too old for benders like the previous night's. What had he been thinking? He really had to stop drinking. This was getting ridiculous.

These chastising conversations he was having with himself were becoming so repetitive. How many mornings had he woken up hating himself like this? Something had to change.

This time he didn’t even know how he'd ended up in his bed. He was still wearing the clothes he had been wearing yesterday, minus his shoes. The last thing he remembered had been hugging Barry Nelson in Ferg’s parking lot. Barry? Barry Nelson the boring appliance guy?

Frank rubbed his eyes and vaguely recalled that Alice had been on a date with Barry. That couldn’t be right. Barry? Talk about opposites attracting.

Then it hit him and all of his memories from his drunken night came flooding back. Alice had not only driven him home, but she also listened to him pour his heart out about Joey. Alice had been pretty cool about it, but Frank couldn’t think of anything more embarrassing.

Alice had suggested that he should apologize and try to undo some of the damage he'd caused.

Yeah right. Like that was ever going to happen. Even Fred, who was curled up in a ball on the pillow beside him, judged him.

Facing the music was easier said than done. There was no way he was going to swallow his pride. Frank Adler doesn’t grovel.

He checked his phone and the only text that he found was one from Roberta letting him know that she had taken Mary to school, but she wasn’t available to pick her up later that afternoon and he would have to do it.

He couldn't help but feel disappointed not to find a text from Joey waiting for him. But after the crazy way that he acted that night, it was a stupid thing to hope for.

He was dreading it, but Alice was probably right. If he ever wanted to take Joey on those three dates, he would have to apologize and try to smooth things over. It was the right thing to do, but he wasn’t sure if he had it in him. Sure, he’s screwed up before, in the past, with other women, but he would just dust himself off and life always seemed to go on. He'd never really put himself out there and tried to fix anything.

It was easier to mess up when you weren’t being yourself with a person. In his heart, Frank always knew that the person that had disappointed those other women had never really existed. But with Joey, it was different; Joey actually saw the real him.

Frank crawled out of bed and had a shower, trying to get Joey’s face off his mind. Maybe if he just ignored the situation then everything would go back to the way things had been. Even just thinking like that, however, just made him hate himself even more. He sounded like a child.

He tried to be productive and drove down to the dock, but that was a waste of time. The parts that he was waiting for hadn’t arrived yet and there wasn’t any new work to distract himself with so he jumped back in his truck and headed back home.

As he waited at a stoplight, he shook his head and wondered what his problem was. Why couldn’t he just apologize to her? Frank knew that he was the one in the wrong and he couldn’t shake off how sorry he felt all day.

Maybe Evelyn was right about him. Maybe he was just stubborn. His mother had always thought the worst about him and had never been shy to share her thoughts on all of his personal failings.

Her personal favorite was to remind him how vindictive he could be. Coming from her, that assessment was pretty laughable. Could you say pot and kettle? It was pretty much a standard Adler family trait at this point.

But then it occurred to him. Why not play on his strengths and spitefully prove Evelyn wrong? If he changed his ways a little bit and swallowed his pride with Joey, he could end up killing two birds with one stone. Potential personal growth and a little bit of delicious revenge against his mother; it sounded like a win win.

Who knows, maybe he might even be able to win Joey back as well?

Something changed inside of Frank and instead of going straight when the light turned green, he signaled right to go into town. There was only one florist in town so finding Joey should be pretty easy.

What was not going to be easy was figuring out what the hell he was going to say to say to her.

\----------------------

“Joey, my dear.” Sheryl nudged Joey’s arm as she was putting the finishing touches on her large flower arrangement. “I think you have an admirer...or a stalker. A very, very handsome stalker I might add.”

“Huh?” Joey looked up from her arrangement and brushed the hair from her face and hated that the first person that she hoped it was was Frank. So much for dignity and self respect. She thought that she had done a pretty good job of not thinking about him, than one mention of a handsome man shot all of her progress to hell.

It took her a moment to figure out who Sheryl was talking about but, sure enough, there Frank was standing outside her work holding two coffee cups in his hands. He looked like he was trying to work up the courage to go inside and hadn’t noticed that he had already been spotted.

He looked so good. He practically took her breath away. Shit. _No, he didn't look good._ Joey shook her head like an etch a sketch and tried to stop herself from drooling over a man that didn’t want her. If her cousin Alice had been there, she would have slapped her upside the head.

“He’s been lurking out there for about ten minutes now, sweetheart. I know I look great for my age, but I doubt he’s here for me.” Sheryl laughed. “He has quite the reputation around here, love. But I must say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him bring a woman coffee before.”

“I doubt it’s for me.” Joey scoffed and went back to her work. “He’s probably off to the next girl. The redhead that works at the bait and tackle shop two doors down is pretty cute, I bet it’s for her.”

“Next girl? That would imply that there was a previous girl? Are you holding out on me, Josephine Kincade? Your mother would not be very happy with you.” Sheryl knowingly winked. “Spill it, child.”

“There’s not much to tell. I’ll tell him to leave.”

“You will do no such thing! That man is the best looking eye candy in miles! Give an old lady enough time to take a proper mental picture.”

Sheryl had managed to make Joey crack up and that was when Frank finally worked up the courage to walk through the front doors. Hearing Joey’s laughter was almost like a siren’s song and, before Frank had figured out what he was going to say to her, his feet had already made their way into the shop as if they had a mind of their own.

“Welcome to Pushing Daisies.” Sheryl beamed. “And what can we do for you on this beautiful Monday afternoon?”

Frank and Joey’s eyes met and that familiar pull between them was back again in full force. Only, this time, Joey fought it because she doubted that the feeling was mutual. At this point, she found their connection annoying. What was the point of him making her feel the way that he did if he didn’t want her in the first place? It was almost cruel.

But why in the world was he at her work and why did he look so pale? The poor guy looked so uncomfortable that she half expected him to run out of the shop at any moment.

“Umm.” Frank swallowed hard. He still had no idea what he was going to say to Joey. Just looking at her behind the counter made his heart skip a beat. “I really messed up.” Frank breathed out the words before he had a chance to come up with anything smoother.

“Flowers are a great way to apologize, dear.” Sheryl budded in. “You’ve come to the right place.”

“Ummm. Okay. Flowers.” Frank looked to Joey, but the expression on her face gave nothing away. “I don’t think I’ve bought a girl flowers since my prom. Are flowers the thing to do when you feel like an ass?”

“Depends on how sorry you are, dear.” Sheryl replied, clearly amused.

“How sorry are you?” Joey cooly enquired as she opened up the flower cooler and stored her now finished flower arrangement. “Carnations sorry or roses sorry?”

Joey was speaking to him, that had to be a good sign. Frank put the two coffees he had in his hands on the counter and wiped his sweaty palms against the back of his jeans. Here goes nothing.

“Roses sorry.” Frank quickly answered and ignored the smug look on Sheryl’s face. “Unless... wait. Is that a trick question? Do women like carnations?”

“Only if they’re still in high school, dear. “ Sheryl teased. She could see how smitten the two of them were with each other from a mile away. “But my advice. As a woman who has had to suffer through many a man’s apology. Skip the roses. They can be lazy and impersonal to a woman with unique creative taste. Take a minute and find a flower that suits your lady. Something that reminds you of her. Does she have a favourite flower?”

Joey watched Frank consider her boss’s advice and she pressed her lips together to keep a smile from stretching across her face. Frank was adorable in a nervous sincere way. Nothing like the way that he had been last night. He was sorry and felt like an ass. Maybe not all was lost, but she tried not to get her hopes up.

“I should have asked you that.” Frank noticed how Joey’s eyes had softened towards and he dropped the pretense that he was there to buy flowers for someone other than her. “But I still know how you like your coffee, though.” He handed Joey her coffee with a shy crooked smile. “One sugar and milk, not cream. I figured you’d like one that was a little less...Irish.”

“I’ll leave the two of you alone.” Sheryl smiled like a proud parent. “That arrangement is beautiful, Joey. You passed with flying colors. I’m so happy to have you on here. We’ll finalize the terms of your employment before we close up.”

“Thank you, but you don’t have to leave-”

Sheryl had already shooed her away and was making her way to the back room before Joey had finished protesting.

“So...your first day.” Frank cautiously asked.

“Yeah. My first day. It was going pretty great until some guy showed up and ran my boss off.”

 _“Nonsense, Joey! Talk to the boy!”_ Sheryl yelled out to them from the back.

Frank and Joey couldn’t help but laugh. Sheryl had broken the tension and Joey started to let her guard down. Hearing Frank puff out a laugh gave her the same feeling that it had the first time that she had heard it. The whole world felt brighter and came into focus for some reason when he was happy.

“What’s your favourite flower?” Frank asked with a trace of laughter still in his voice.

“Frank…”

“No seriously. I know that I messed up last night, but I want to know. I still want to know everything about you, Joey.” Frank looked around the shop and tried to guess. “Sunflowers maybe?...ummm. Tulips?.... What about these purple things?”

“Lilies.”

“Lilies are your favorite?”

“No, that’s what those purple things are.” Joey smirked. Frank was breaking down her defenses with his boyish charm. “If you must know, I like hydrangeas. But we don’t get a shipment till next week.”

“So this is going to be pretty difficult, isn’t it?” Frank asked more seriously.

Joey swallowed hard and held her breath. She was bracing herself for another Frank Adler mood swing.

“Pushing Daisies is the only flower shop in town.” he explained to the floor. “It kinda kills the surprise when the only girl I would buy flowers for works here, don’t cha think?”

“Do you plan on having to apologize with flowers often?” Joey challenged with a smirk.

“Oh man! Is this how much a dozen roses cost?” Frank exclaimed as he read over their price list. “The sticker shock alone is enough to keep a man on his best behaviour!”

 _“I’ll have you know that my roses are the best roses in the state, Mr. Adler!”_ Sheryl called out from the back again. _“And Joey here is worth at LEAST three dozen of them!”_

“Save your money.” Joey sighed. “I don’t want flowers, Frank.”

Frank’s face fell as he let her words dance around his head. Maybe coming here had been a mistake. He was fooling himself if he thought that he ever stood a chance with her in the first place.

“Okay, I get it. It was worth a shot. I’ll leave you to it then.” Frank tried to sound normal but his voice broke. He should have known that it wasn’t going to be so easy to get things back on track. Joey could always see past his bullshit.

“No, I just mean..” Joey took his hand before he turned to leave. “I work with flowers all day. It’s like...I dunno, giving you a boat part or something as a gift.”

“Ah. okay. I see how it is.” Frank smiled and squeezed her hand and linked their fingers together.

She squeezed his hand back and he felt the warmth of her hand traveled up his arm and spread across his chest. Swallowing his pride was proving to be such a good decision. He was in awe of her ability to put him at ease so quickly.

“I’ll have to come up with a better apology then.” he smoothly concluded as he gazed into her kind eyes.

“Or you could just talk to me and explain what happened.”

The way that he was smiling down at her made Joey lite up inside but she was still worried about him and wanted to know what cause him to run away from her last night. They had just started seeing each other and his behaviour wasn’t a good sign.

“I’m a pretty good listener. I was worried about you last night.” she confessed. “What happened? Did I do something wrong?”

Now that he was the there in front of her and being the Frank Adler that she recognized, Joey just couldn't stop talking. She'd had no idea how much she had missed him and knowing that he still had feelings for her made her feel giddy. She’s never had her heart override her doubts so quickly in her life.

Frank shook his head. Joey hadn't done anything wrong, it had all been him. He opened his mouth to tell her that, but a customer walked into the shop and Joey reluctantly had to let go of his hand.

Joey tended to the customer and Frank stepped out of the the way and motioned that he was going to leave and mouthed, “Later?”

Joey nodded with a sweet smile and when Frank walked back to his truck he couldn’t stop smiling. Alice had been right. Whether he got a second chance with Joey or not, he did feel like he was one step closer to becoming that man that he wanted to be, even if it was spite that motivated him to try in the first place.

Joey was worth the effort. He could count on one hand the number of days that she had been in his life, but in those short days she had affected him in ways that he was only beginning to understand.

\---------------------

Joey drove home with a huge smile on her face and she sang along to every song on the radio like an idiot. She was the mirror opposite of her drive to work that morning.

In fact, she could barely remember a time when she hadn't felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Now, life looked so hopeful. Not only had she started a really cool job, but she really liked her boss for the first time in her life.

Sheryl had kept her word and had finalized the terms of Joey's employment before she'd left for the day. Joey has been shocked when she'd been presented with a very generous health insurance plan for her whole little family and news that Sheryl was willing to match what Joey had been earning with her previous employer. Joey couldn’t believe her luck.

To celebrate, Joey drove along and sang her little heart out. It was a beautifully sunny afternoon and everything seemed to coming up roses. The contractors had fixed Ed’s door that day, which, after she signed the deed, would technically be her door, and the movers were set to clean out the house any day now.

It was an embarrassment of riches really. But most of all, she couldn’t wait to get home to see Sam and Gus. She had a family now. She was actually a mom...with a dog no less! Joey had suddenly become so comfortable with the whole white picket fence idea that she squeezed the steering wheel and wanted to squeal with excitement.

Screw it. She squealed. She squealed like a little kid.

Seeing Frank that afternoon was just icing on a very very tasty cake.

As Joey stopped at a red light, a Kesha song came on and she cranked up the volume and had her own personal dance party and belted out all of the words that she knew as she wildly shook out her hair. It felt amazing to let loose and release some of the happy energy that had seemed to appear out of nowhere.

It wasn’t until she felt a pair of eyes on her that she calmed down and started to laugh at herself. The woman in the minivan beside her rolled her eyes and shook her head at Joey’s foolishness and the stranger’s reaction only made Joey shrug her shoulders and laugh a little louder.

Life had been been too heavy for too long. Joey was finally starting to recognize herself again and it was nice to remember that, once upon a time, she used to actually like who she was.

The minivan squealed away as soon as the light turned green and it dawned on Joey the woman scowling at her in the minivan was actually a girl that she'd known in high school. Oops.

Maybe she should have said hello, but she wasn’t going to let any snooty behaviour ruin her high. From what Joey could remember of her old classmate, scowling was a regular thing for her anyway. She had known that there was a chance that she would run into some of the mean girls that she'd known in high school, but, at the moment, she was too happy to care.

Besides, she had a sweet little three year old waiting for her at home and cute guy to talk to later.

Joey drove down her street and took a second to admire what was soon to be her future house. She had so many plans for it dancing around in her head and had been thinking about how to landscape her front yard all day.

But she had to blink and do a double take when she saw a ladder up against the house. The contractors were just supposed to fix the front door. A ladder made no sense. She really hoped that there wasn’t a problem with the roof. She wasn’t sure if she could afford to fix an issue like that right now.

Her heart sank, she knew her lucky streak had to come to end at some point.

Joey pulled into her mother’s driveway and made her way down to Ed’s old house to find out what was going on. The closer that she got, the clearer the cursing and mumbling from whoever was on top of the ladder became. And the more recognizable.

“Frank?”

“Ah shit. I was hopin’...fuck, I hate this...I hoping to get this done before you got home, sorry.”

“Sorry? What the hell are you doing up there?”

“I’m…oh shit, watch out!”

Joey safely stepped under the porch awning before any falling debris fell on her shoes.

“I am cleaning out your damn rain gutters.” Frank explained above her. “They’re terrible! Ed must not have touched these all last year...or maybe even the year before that. Who knows?”

“Why in the world are you cleaning my gutters!” Joey laughed. “Get down here before you break your neck!”

“You didn’t want flowers. So I guess you can say that I’m ‘rain gutters sorry’”

“Oh.” Joey’s heart swelled even though Frank sounded miserable up there. “Is that significantly more than ‘roses sorry?’”

“Apparently.”

“I thought that you, I quote, ‘hated cleaning gutters with a burning passion?’”

“I do...I really really do. Mark my words, I’m never doing this again. Am I forgiven for being a jerk last night?”

“You’re gettin’ there, Alder. But I still wanna talk.”

“So talk.”

“As cute as your butt looks from down here, I was kinda hoping for something a little more...I dunno...a little more face to face and maybe less dangerous?”

“I wouldn’t be the first man to fling himself off a ladder to avoid a potentially embarrassing personal conversation with a woman, would I?” he teased.

“Get down here, dummy.” she laughed. Frank cleaning out her rain gutters was probably the nicest and most romantic thing a man had ever done for her. Definitely better than flowers. “I wanna go see Sam.”

“Leaving me for another man, I see how it is.” Frank teased. “Go see him then, dummy, I’m almost done.”

Joey rocked on her heels and admired the way his body move as he worked. He really was something else, she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of him. She still had no idea why he freaked out the way that he did the other night. But if he was willing to do something that he hated to try and make it up to her then maybe Grumpy Frank Adler was worth a second chance.

“I can see you down there checking out my ass.” Frank chuckled and pulled her from her thoughts. “Maybe you’ve been hanging out with Sheryl for too long.”

“Trust me, Frank. I was checking your ass out long before I started working for that lady!”

“Go see Sam and tell the little punk I said bye.” Frank laughed. “He was already out here with your mom playing with Gus when I got here. He’s a really cute kid. I gotta drive into town and pick Mary up from school after I clean up. Can I call you later?”

“You sure can. Can I kiss you before you go?”

“Not a chance in hell, Joe. I stink.” Frank grumbled and above her and continued working.

There was a regret in his voice that made Joey smile. She could tell that he was reconsidering. He wanted to kiss her, she knew it.

Frank wanted her and knowing that made her heart sing all the way back to her mother’s house.

But Frank also knew that, after everything that he had put her through, Joey wanted to kiss him too, and that knowledge made cleaning out her rain gutters a little less tedious. He loved that he had managed to put a little bounce in her step as he watched her leave. It felt good.


	10. "The Girl Next Door"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank finally owns up, and Joey & Mary get to know each other.

The sun had just officially set as Joey sat out on her mother’s porch reading one of her many parenting books by the soft glow of the porch light.

The day after she and Sam had arrived in town, Joey had headed to the local library and had essentially pulled every book off the shelf in their small parenting section and had ignored the puzzled looks she'd gotten from the librarian as she struggled to carry them all to her car.

When it came to raising Sam properly, she had no idea where to start and wanted to cover all her bases. In school, research had been something she remembered being pretty good at and figured it was time to stretch out those old scholarly muscles.

Since putting Sam to bed, she had skimmed through five books already and was slowly catching on to the fact that there was no real consensus on parenting techniques. But she figured if she went through different theories, she could cherry pick the ones that seemed to fit the existing dynamics between her and Sam and toss out the ones that seemed ridiculous or outlandish.

Not messing Sam up was so important to her that anything was worth a shot, but it was comforting to know that no one really had all of the answers. The more she read, the more themes of loving and listening to your child became pretty repetitive. Apparently, being patient with your child was a big deal, also.

 _Obviously._ Joey scoffed to herself. She already had those bases covered. It’s not like she enjoyed watching the same cartoon 50 times in a row, or digging for worms with Sam. She patiently did those things because she loved him and had listened to him enough to know that those things were important to him.

The lack of proper light had her wearing her hated black rimmed reading glasses and her tea had long since gone cold. But the night was cool and peaceful and Gus, who had managed to wedge himself onto to the other end of her mother’s little wicker loveseat, was sleeping on top of her feet and was doing a good job of keeping her feet warm.

She discarded another useless book and picked up another one. This one was about gentle disciple and it held her attention for a lot longer than the rest of them had. She understood the importance of discipling children, but had been dreading the idea of being the bad guy in Sam’s eyes and this book was helpful. Maybe her embarrassing trip to the library hadn’t been in vain, afterall.  
\--------------------

Frank stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked across the street towards Jessie’s house. Joey was still reading out on the porch and hadn’t looked up from her book so he leaned against the house and observed her.

Frank wondered to himself if he was being a creep, but he couldn’t help but love seeing Joey in her natural state when she thought that she was alone.

He watched her read and was amused with the little expressions that crossed her face when she appeared to like what she was reading and the sour frowns she made when she found something outrageous. She was so expressive, it was almost impossible not to find her adorable.

His heart was so full as he watched her. She was makeup free and her long hair was piled up on top of her head in a messy casual way. He smirked at her oversized grey nirvana t shirt that had fallen off one shoulder. Obviously, she hadn't been lying about her many band tees and he found her predictability cute and endearing.

Joey really fascinated him and he let himself feel it all. He was trying to learn from his mistakes and stop over analyzing everything.

So this time, Frank attempted to lean into his feelings and silence the doubts and fears that always seemed to bubble up when Joey managed to touch his heart in her special quirky way.

He refused to take her for granted again. But the longer that he watched her, the more it dawned on him that he couldn’t take her for granted again even if he wanted to.

He was grateful that he got the opportunity to see her like that and he wondered what she was reading. He’d have to think of a nice way to thank Roberta for looking after Mary for him. Without her, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity.

Mary had been exhausted after her full day of courses and had went to bed shortly after dinner. She might be loving her new challenging classes, but she was still a seven year old girl. The workload had been taking a physical toll on her. Frank had caught her asleep on her laptop a few times since she'd started at the college and had been considering cutting her workload down.

They were both new to this kind of schedule and Frank needed to figure out what the best compromise would be between her advanced education and her childhood.

Roberta had come over that night to discuss the very same thing and the two of them were on the same page. Mary was going to be pissed, but it was for her own good. Cutting two or three classes wasn’t going to be the end of the world. But try telling her that. Frank was not looking forward to that conversation.

While visiting, Roberta had noticed how Frank continued to look outside where Joey was reading across the street. She'd given him a knowing smile and had offered to watch her television show at his place if he wanted to go over and say hello. Frank had jumped at the opportunity, but hadn't noticed the look of concern on Roberta’s face when he'd practically tripped over himself as he'd rushed out of the house.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses. They look good on you.” Frank’s smooth voice suddenly broke the silence of the peaceful night and Joey nearly jumped out of her skin. His sudden appearance had also woke the golden retriever up. As soon as Gus spotted Frank, he wagged his tail and made a beeline towards him.

“Oh my god! I think you just took two weeks off my life!” Joey gasped with laughter in her voice.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.” Frank chuckled as he bent down to pet Gus and rub behind his ears.

“Some guard dog you are, Gus.” she teased the happy dog.

“Naw, he’s a great guard dog.” Frank insisted and smirked when the golden retriever rolled over onto to his back in the hopes of getting his belly rubbed. “He knows I’m a friend, don’t cha boy? If I was a bad guy you’d look after her, wouldn’t cha? Yeah you would.” Frank laughed and rubbed Gus’s furry belly and tried to stop him from licking his face.

“Yeah, he’s real vicious.” Joey giggled as she watched them bond. “I thought you were going to call? I have my phone out here and everything.”

“Sorry, I just saw you out here. I’ve never dated ‘the girl next door,’ turns out it’s pretty convenient.”

“Are we dating?” Joey retorted before she considered how rude it had sounded.

She had put him on the spot and Frank didn’t know what to say. He stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at his feet while he tried to think of something smooth to say.

The more Frank went over his options, the more he found himself slipping into the character that he used to play for other women and he hated it. He didn’t want to feed Joey a line or play hard to get, so he went with the truth instead.

“I really hope we are. But, I guess that’s up to you…”

“Well, let’s find out. Wanna sit?” she asked with a sweet smile.

With Frank visiting her at work earlier and then coming home to him cleaning her rain gutters, he was doing a pretty good job of putting her fears to rest. But she still needed more from him and hoped that he would finally talk to her and explain what happened to him the other night.

Frank took Gus’s spot beside her on the wicker loveseat and placed his hand on her bare feet and smiled when she wiggled her toes underneath his hand.

“What are you reading?” Frank gestured to the large stack of books on the floor beside her and inquisitively raised his eyebrows at her.

“Remember that really important imaginary test that felt like I should be cramming for?” Joey sighed and showed him the cover of her parenting book.

“Ah. I see. And when’s your final? Maybe your professor will give you an extension or extra credit?”

“Funny. The truth is I’m not sure if any of these of these so-called ‘experts’ have all the answers. I’m sorta spinning my wheels out here.”

“You might just have to wing it like the rest of us.”

“Maybe.” Joey hugged her book against her chest and bit her bottom lip when she started smiling a huge ridiculous smile that she couldn’t seem to control. She'd just remembered that she hadn’t told Frank yet.

“What?” Frank loved seeing her so happy. It was as if the sun had just started shining just for him. It was a dazzling feeling that was hard to put into words.

“Sam. He just started calling me mommy. So maybe my ‘winging it’ is sorta paying off.”

“You’re kidding! That’s awesome. He’s such a good kid.”

“He really is.” She beamed with pride. “I didn’t want to push him into anything. I mean, I was fine with him just calling me Joey. But...I know it’s silly...but it feels like he wants me to be his mom, you know? Is that crazy?”

“Of course, he does. Why wouldn’t he? Sounds to me like you already passed your test with flying colours, Kincade. A+,” he teased with a twinkle in his eye.

Joey started to blush at the way that Frank was looking at her. There was something about that man that made little moments feel so intimate and special. She hadn’t been expecting him that night and she must have looked like hell, but there he was, looking at her as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world.

She really wanted to give him a second chance, but she had to find out what he was keeping from her. Maybe if she had pressed Kevin when he'd become distance he wouldn’t have abandoned her and Sam like he had. She didn’t want to make that mistake with Frank, he had become so dear to her in such a short time.

“Don’t, I like ‘em.” Frank softly insisted when she slowly slipped her glasses off.

“Good to know, but I only need them for reading, not for _talking._ ”

“We are talking. I like talking to you.” He grinned and squeezed her feet.

“But we’re not talking about what we probably should be talking about, though, are we?” She gave him a pointed look to stressed the fact that she meant business as she set her book down on the pile and folded up her glasses on top of it.

Frank clued in and realized that she needed him to actually discuss what had happened the other night. There was no way around it.

“You’re not gunna let this go are you?” he sighed deeply like a petulant child. “I apologized already, didn’t I? What else do I have to do? Want me to walk your dog or change the oil in your car?”

There was laughter in his voice and Joey couldn’t help but smile at him. But he could see the reluctance in her eyes and he looked away and shook his head. It was his fault in the first place that she was unsure of his feelings and needed his reassurance. Opening himself up was going to be hard. He really didn’t want her to know how weak and fearful he could be.

“Hey,” Joey cooed and reached over and brushed the back of her fingers against his cheek when he started to look upset. “Thank you for the coffee and for the gutters. It was all very sweet. I do forgive you. I just don’t know if we can be an ‘us’ and carry on like nothing happened. Especially, when I don’t even understand what happened in the first place. I guess you don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. But, Frank, I really do want to know you. The good and the bad.”

“You make it sound so simple. What if you know me and you don’t like what you see?” he confessed. “What if there’s more bad than good?”

“Wanna know a secret?” Joey asked with a sly smile.

Frank twisted closer to her and grinned to himself. She was so cute as she took the hand that wasn’t holding her bare feet and eagerly waited for his answer.

“But of course.” He chuckled and played along.

“You’re cute. Like, seriously, you have a mirror I’m sure you realize how hot you are.”

“Okay?” Frank barked out a loud laugh and Joey giggled along with him. “Thanks? You’re not unattractive either.”

“No, what I mean is.” Joey tried to sit up a little straighter and stop giggling so she could explain herself better. “I’ve dated hot guys before and if they pulled the kind of thing that you pulled last night they wouldn’t be sitting here with me right now. I would have just cut my losses and moved on.”

“So why I’m I sitting here?” Frank had stopped smiling as well. As cute as was Joey was, she wasn’t playing games and she had his complete attention.

“Because I already really like what I see, Adler. At least the stuff that you’ve let me see. You were honest with me that night in your bedroom. You took a chance and you opened up to me in a way that...well, in a way that really matters to me. You trusting me like that…”

Joey looked down as she played with his fingers and Frank had to stop himself from kissing her.

“...it mattered. It really mattered to me that you trusted me. Or did I just imagine that? Was that even you?”

“No...no, Joey. That was all me,” he whispered.

“I really liked that guy...and this one too, by the way,” she added with a smile. “So if you’re thinking that holding back and closing yourself off is going to somehow impress me, you’ve got me all wrong. I want more of that realness in my life, not less. I want more of you.”

Frank looked into her eyes and slowly leaned over and kissed her lips. He needed to prove a point to her. He let her take control and set the tone and it wasn’t long until their kiss deepened and their hands were buried in each other’s hair. His heart started to race and it took all of his self control not to take things to the next level. He couldn’t get over how electric their connection was, he’s not sure if he’d ever felt anything like it.

“Did you feel that?” he asked against her lips.

She kissed his full bottom lip one more time before she nodded her head in agreement. She hoped that he felt the same way that she did because, for her, the whole world seemed to melt away when he kissed her. She felt alive like she was soaring through the air, yet safe and warm at the same time, she just couldn’t get enough.

“This scares the hell out of me.” Frank admitted as he cupped Joey’s face in his hands. “I just met you and you can make me feel like this.”

“Is that why you turned cold and ran?”

Frank let go of her face and ran his hand down his chin as he nodded his head.

“I wish I could be brave like you, Joey.” Frank confessed as he looked out onto the street. “But I’m worried that if I get too invested in you, I’m going to get really hurt. I know that we’re going slow...but this is moving so damn fast” Frank placed his hand on his heart to make his point. “And I wasn’t lying before when I said I have no idea what I’m doing, I feel like an idiot.”

He gathered all of his courage to looked her in the eye. She was so beautiful and he hoped that he hadn’t scared her away.

“But I want to try, Joey. I want more of you, too.” He'd said it. Actually saying the words out loud was like pulling the pin on a grenade and waiting to find out if you were going be a casualty of the explosion.

Frank leaned his back against the chair and waited for her to tell him to leave. His fears were out there now and he hated the uncertainty.

Joey bent her legs up to her chest and hugged them close as she considered what Frank had just confessed to her. Her mind was racing and she tried to calm herself by resting her chin on her knees and closing her eyes.

She had everything so wrong. It was way too easy for her to believe that he simply didn’t want her. Never in a million years would she have thought that she could have wielded that kind of power over him. But she didn’t want to hurt him and she wished that he knew that. But on the flip side, he didn’t seem to have any problem hurting her when he'd run out on her.

“So what are we going to do about this, Frank? I’ve had more than enough of men running out on me. I’m starting to think that there’s something about me that repels men and sends them running through walls like some kind of cartoon character or something. It’s not a fun feeling.”

“It’s not that I don’t want you,” he explained. “You gotta know that. It’s the exact opposite. I just feel like I’m sliding into something that feels so out of my control. I hate that feeling, but I don’t plan on running again.”

Joey looked away as if she didn’t believe him and Gus came over and tried to place his head in her lap when he sensed her sadness. Frank wished that he could make her understand.

“Look, I stupidly thought that I could just turn off my feelings for you and that would save me from getting hurt. It wasn’t you…” Frank leaned over and tucked a fallen lock of her hair behind her ear and she soften towards him and nuzzled her cheek against the inside of his hand.

“Damn, Joe. It really wasn’t you,” he repeated with a trace of awe in his voice.

Frank couldn’t believe how warm and soft her face felt in the palm of his hand. She was just so precious. He traced his thumb along the outline of her full bottom lip and made a promise to himself, in that moment, that he would never make her feel unwanted again.

“Thinking that we were over before we even started hurt me worse than anything I thought I was saving myself from….how’s that for opening up and sharing, huh?” he added with a smirk.

Joey puffed out a small laugh and held his large hand against her face. She looked him in eye and held his loving gaze. Damn, his honesty really took her breath away.

He smiled back and slowly took his hand away from her cheek, but took her hand in his and fiddled with one of the small rings on her fingers. He was still nervous about what she had to say, but he still needed to touch her.

“I believe you,” she finally said after a long silence. “We’ll keep going slow, okay. Three dates. Or more. I don’t care. We’ll go slow until you’re not scared anymore. No labels and no pressure. But I do like you. Damn it, Frank. I really really like you and I try not to hurt people that I care about,” she insisted and rested her chin on his shoulder. “We can take things slow until you start to believe that.”

“See this is the problem.” Frank chuckled as he leaned in for another kiss. “You’re just too damn perfect.”

“Hardly.” Joey smiled as she kissed his lips. “I could try being a crazy bitch if that would make you feel better?”

Frank laughed and kissed her at the same time. He did it. He'd actually opened himself up and let himself be vulnerable and she hadn't crushed him. That was two for two. Once in his bedroom and then again, now, on her mother’s porch. What more could he expect from her?

He continued to giggle and kiss her until Gus started to whine to go back inside.

“Sorry, he likes to sleep with Sam.” she explained with a yawn.

“See. Guard dog.” Frank confirmed. “You free this Friday?”

“What did you have in mind, Mr. Playa?”

“I honestly have no idea, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.” He laughed. “I just wanna see you.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to get all pretty for you, then.”

“I have no doubt. Any chance I could convince you to wear your glasses?” he teased until she playfully smacked him. “Get some sleep, Joe.”

As Frank walked back to his house, he made peace with the fact that he was probably going to fall for Joey Kincade and fall pretty damn hard. But more than that, he really started to trust her with his heart. Joey had proven to him that she could be trusted and Alice had been right, he needed to get out of his own way and let himself be happy.

Frank hadn’t realized that trust was that missing puzzle piece that had kept him from opening up in the past. He always had so much to hide, but with Joey it was different. With Joey everything was different.

\----------------------------

The next two days went by fairly quickly, aside from the arguments Frank and Roberta had with Mary about her workload, that is.

Frank loved how passionate his niece was about her studies, but he still wanted her to be a kid and not pass out the second she was done eating her dinner every night. He was becoming more comfortable with nurturing her talents, but he knew all too well what could happen if she pushed herself too hard.

Besides, he kinda missed her. Losing her to her schoolwork was not something that Frank could stomach in the slightest. Cutting back a little bit was the best thing to do. He’d find a way to make it up to her and prove to her that there was more to life than academics. But in the meantime, his little pint sized genius was furious with him.

When Frank wasn’t driving Mary to and from school, he was working on the Anderson’s catamaran, since the part he’d been waiting for had finally come in. Despite his busy schedule, it didn't stop him and Joey from texting each other throughout the day.

Ever since Frank had sucked it up and told Joey how scared he was about getting hurt, he had been rewarded with not only a good morning text from her every day, but a cute little countdown to their first date text as well. That girl never failed to put a huge smile on his face. Hearing from Joey everyday was definitely something that he could get used to.

Frank had told Joey about Mary giving him the silent treatment and the bright encouraging “hang in there” texts from her, at first, had been so cheesy that they'd made him roll his eyes. But when Frank took a moment to stop being so cynical, he had to admit that those texts had also really helped.

Joey was a great cheerleader and it was really nice to date a girl that not only knew that Mary actually existed, but also cared enough about his home life that he could share his problems with her.

In between working at the flower shop and taking care of Sam, Joey had found someone to tune Ed’s old piano and she reminded Frank that her offer still stood that Mary could come across the street and practice whenever she liked once it was spruced up. Joey had suggested that he should surprise the grumpy little girl with the news to try and win back her favor, but Frank didn’t want to say anything until they were sure that the piano would work. He had learned his lesson from months ago and would never make a promise to Mary that he couldn’t keep.

The movers had already cleared out Ed’s old house, minus a few boxes of personal items that Jessie had wanted to save for Ed’s son and Joey and Sam were set to move in soon. Tuning her new piano was on the bottom of a long list of priorities. But as Joey kept Frank abreast of the mounting laundry list of hassles that came along with moving in their new home, she also expressed how the excited she was to see him on Friday and cut loose a little bit.

Frank wasn't sure if he should plan something super elaborate for their first date or not. He couldn’t afford much, but he figured a semi fancy dinner would be a good traditional place to start. He really just wanted to spend some alone time with her and he hoped that dinner at the marina restaurant and a walk along the pier would be impressive enough.

He might even dress up a little bit to prove to her that she mattered. Making her believe that he didn’t want her the other night was a wrong that he was more than willing to try and right. He had a feeling that, when the time came and they got these three dates out of the way, he would enjoy showing her exactly how special she was to him.

Aside from Mary’s attitude, Frank had spent the last two days happier than he’d been in a long time, but even he had to admit it was almost ridiculous how many times he looked out his window when he was home. He just couldn’t seem to help himself; Joey was always on his mind and he kept hoping that he would catch her reading outside again.

It was a quiet Thursday afternoon when he checked the time and figured that Joey should be home from work already and found himself, yet again, looking out his window. Sure enough, her car was parked in her mother’s drive way and he spotted her out on her mother’s front lawn playing with Sam.

Man, she really loved that kid and had no issues rolling around in the grass with him and making him a priority. He watched the two of them wrestle and tickle each other and eventually lay down on the ground and stare and point at the clouds in the sky while Gus curled up beside their heads and tried to get in on the action.

Frank wasn’t sure which side of Joey he was more fascinated with. The sexy girly side that slayed him, or the sweet loving side of her that made mothering look so easy. But his questions were answered when his back pocket buzzed with a text from her calling him the hottest stalker in town. Her smartass side was definitely his favorite side of her. Her clever witty side always kept him on his toes.

“Busted. But that would mean that you were looking over here too.” He texted back and chuckled to himself.

“Busted xo,” she texted back with a selfie of her and Sam laying in the grass and smiling giant goofy smiles.

“Can I go play with Sam?” Mary peeked up from her book to find out what Frank was laughing at and noticed that Joey and Sam had started kicking a soccer ball around across the street.

“Oh, are you talking to me now?”

“Nevermind. Forget I said anything.” Mary groaned and buried herself back into her textbook.

“Yes, you can go play. Are you done your homework?”

“I sure am. Now that I someone made me drop three courses, I don’t seem to have all that much to do anymore.” Mary sneered with contempt.

“Mary,” Frank sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We need to figure out what the proper workload is for you. It’s going to take some trial and error, you can take those course again next semester. We’ve discussed this at nauseum.”

“Fine.”

“Look, do you want to spend your free time arguing with me or do you want to spend it with Sam?”

“Sam,” Mary sighed. “I wanted to show him and Joey the new cheer I made up this morning.”

“Well go show ‘em then, grumpy.”

Mary rolled her eyes at him, but Frank caught the smile on her face as she rushed out the door.

“Hey! Look both ways before you cross the…..”

Mary was already yelling, “Yeah yeah yeah, I’m not a baby, you know!” over her shoulder.

“Street.” Frank said to himself as he texted Joey back to let her know that she and Sam would soon have a visitor.

Frank continued spying out his window and watched as Sam greeted Mary with a big hug and Mary trying to lift the little boy off the ground. He could practically hear the three of them laughing from inside the house. It was a great show to watch.

Joey listened to Mary excitedly explain her new cheer and she jumped right in when Mary tried to a choreograph it for her; it was adorable and hilarious at the same time. Frank couldn’t seem to pull himself away.

But that familiar fear started to creep back up from his chest. He was playing with fire. Mary might get attached to Joey and Sam. How could she not? They were kind and fun and welcomed her with open arms and encouraged Mary’s special brand of silliness.

Frank was well aware that his overthinking and his unreasonable fears had caused him do some stupid things in the past, so he tried to silence them before he freaked out and did something he regretted. But as he watched Joey finally start to understand Mary’s cheer and the two of them started to dance insync, he realized that those fears might be legitimate.

After everything that had happened over the past few months with Mary, Frank had made it his personal mission not to cause her any more unnecessary pain. But he also knew that he couldn’t let Joey go. He'd tried that already and it had made him so miserable that he couldn’t go a day without making it right. But even after he had calmed himself down, that fear for Mary was still there. What if things didn’t work out with Joey and she and Sam had to leave Mary’s life one day?

As he watched Joey play with the two kids and chase them around the yard, a different and equally scary question creeped up from the most optimistic part of his heart. What if things DO work out?

Frank smiled to himself and wondered if he was watching a glimpse of his future play out across the street. It was a nice thought. Sam was a great kid and Joey...well, Joey was Joey. He and Mary would be lucky to have them in their lives.

It was a nice thought, but nothing was set in stone. Frank still hadn’t even taken Joey out on a real date yet and there he was dreaming of blending their families together one day. He was overthinking again and not living in the moment, but he knew that he had to play this smart and do the right thing for Mary.

It was going to be tricky, but he decided that keeping Mary in the dark on their new relationship was the best thing to do. But after everything that he had put himself through to have an honest relationship, he just hoped that keeping a little white lie wouldn’t cause him to take a giant step backwards.

Frank got a text from Joey telling him that Sam was getting tired and her and Mary were going to leave him with her mom and take Gus for a walk.

“Do you guys have room for one more?” Frank texted back. He was starting to get lonely and wouldn’t mind joining in on the fun.  
A minute or two went by before he heard back from her. “Sorry. No bueno. Mary says Girls Only.”

Frank huffed to himself. Mary was still mad at him and wasn’t letting it go anytime soon. Stubborn really was a standard family trait.

“I hate to break it to you,” Frank texted back. “but even though he’s fixed Gus is still a dude the last time I check.”

“I tried that but she’s not budging. Next time though. xo”

Frank was a little disappointed but took the opportunity to work on a fuel pump that he had laying around and tried to think positive.

He lost himself in his work and, a little while later, Frank was enjoying the peace and quiet and decided to take a shower and finish the dishes that had been piling up in the sink before Roberta showed up with dinner.

Maybe a half hour later, he looked up as he was putting the last of the dishes away and saw Joey and Mary walking, hand in hand, back down the street with Gus.

Joey was saying something to Mary that had her cracking up and swinging their joined hands in the air. Watching the two of them together caused him to stand up a little straighter.

Mary liked her. She liked Joey a lot. But more than that, the two of them seemed to fit and have a special bond together, seemingly overnight. They looked adorable together. Frank couldn’t help but wonder if his sister would have laughed like that with Mary had she been alive today. Silly wasn’t something that Diane had had a lot of experience with.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that Roberta had let herself in and jumped when she slammed the door behind her.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Frank?” Roberta demanded.

“Not usually. But is there something in particular that you think that I should be aware of?” Frank asked and dried his hands with a dish towel and tossed it across his shoulder. Whatever Roberta had made them smelled amazing.

Roberta placed the casserole dish on his small table with a heavy sigh.

“Look, I like Joey,” she began. “Hell, I love the girl. She’s been the apple of Jessie’s eye for as long as I can remember.”

Frank’s shoulder’s dropped and he started to pay more attention to Roberta when he sensed that it was getting harder for her to express herself.

“What’s wrong then? Is there something about Joey that I should know?”

“No it’s nothing like that...I mean there’s the stuff with her daddy, but that’s not my place to say, and it really has nothing to do with her. The same way your so-called mama has nothing to do with you. She’s a great girl. It’s just...Mary. Just look at them out there.”

“I know, I know.” He nodded. Frank could vaguely remember Alice almost mentioning something about Joey’s father the other night at Ferg’s, but he had been too drunk to catch it and follow up with any questions.

Frank wasn’t upset with Joey for not sharing her complete family history with him. Afterall, he still hadn’t told her about his mother and the custody battle yet. So, in all fairness, he couldn’t hold it against her. He knew that he was going to have to get that out of the way, but the right time hadn’t presented itself yet.

“Look, Roberta, I know. All Mary knows right now is that Joey is Jessie’s daughter and that we’re friends. She has no idea that we’re dating.”

Robert looked past him and through the window and watched as Mary and Joey walked up the path towards the house with Gus. Frank couldn’t quite read the look on Roberta’s face, but knew that something more was bothering her about the whole situation.

Unfortunately, Frank didn’t have enough time to figure it all out since Mary had already let herself back into the house and had walked past him to hug Roberta hello.

“Smells good!” Mary beamed.

“Thanks, baby. I made your favourite. I still have to melt the cheese over it and you’re gunna help me chop up the salad.” Robert smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“You guys seemed to be having a good time.” Frank announced and smirked down at his niece. “Nice to know that you can still smile, huh?”

Mary quickly remembered that she was supposed to be mad at him and wiped the smile off her face and crossed her arms across her chest in a huff, much to her uncle’s dismay.

Joey had stayed in the doorway with Gus on his leash and smiled at Frank. He was adorable. She had no idea that him in “dad mode” with a dish towel hanging off his shoulder would be a hot as it was.

Einstein noticed an intruder in the doorway and hissed in Gus’s direction. The poor dog took it personally and let out a sad whimper before he practically slithered submissively along the floor towards the angry cat.

Einstein was not in the mood to make any new friends and promptly gave the pathetic dog a swift slap along his nose.

“Hey!” Frank yelled and promptly scooped up the cat while Joey dropped to knees and comforted her yelping dog and examined his nose. “Sorry ’bout that, old Gus. This one’s adopted, he hasn’t learned his manners yet.”

“They’re all adopted, Frank.” Mary dryly informed him.

Frank took a deep breath and tried not to get mad at Mary for still giving him attitude in front of Joey. He wished that she would cut him a break and stop being so mad at him.

Roberta could sense the tension and took the cat from Frank’s arms and left to store him safely in the bedroom with Mary following behind her.

“We’ll eat in about 30 minutes.” Roberta informed him over her shoulder.

“Is he okay?” Frank asked. “I guess Einstein isn’t very dog friendly. Ironically, he’s not all that smart.”

“It’s just a little scratch, I’ll clean it up when I get home. Gus here is just a little too friendly for his own good sometimes. Aren’t cha, buddy?”

“Did you eat yet? Did you wanna stay for dinner?” Frank offered.

“No that’s okay. It smells great, though. But Alice is coming over later and we’re going to order a pizza and watch the Breakfast Club for the millionth time.”

“A classic. Which one are you?” Frank playfully asked. “Personally, I’ve always identified with the Judd Nelson character.”

“Ha! ‘The Criminal,’ good to know.” Joey laughed. “I dunno, I guess I’m a cross between ‘The Princess and The Basketcase.’ But now that I think about it, I think I identify a lot with ‘The Criminal,’ too.”

“What a pair we make, huh?” Frank grinned. He watched her giggled and pet Gus, and could see all parts of those characters in her as well. “Walk you home?”

“Sure.”

Joey was puzzled that Frank didn’t seem to want to hold her hand as they walked across his yard, but she was still grateful that she got to spend some alone time with him.

After quickly asking each other how work was going as they crossed the street, he stopped saying much so she bumped him with her shoulder until he loosened up and puffed out a laugh.

“Sorry, it’s just that I have something to say to you and I’m not sure how to say it.” he confessed.

“Spill it, Adler.”

“It’s just about Mary.”

“She’s soooo mad at you!” Joey teasingly sung out.

“Yeah, what else is new.” Frank chuckled. “Hopefully you guys don’t start a ‘I hate Frank club.’”

“As fun as that might be, that club wouldn’t be much fun without you.” Joey sung out and coyly batted her eyes to emphasize her obvious over the top flirting.

Frank laughed and bumped her with his shoulder the same way she had done to him. He really hoped that she didn’t think that he was ashamed of her in some way and trying to hide her.

“Spill it, Adler.” Joey repeated. “What do you want to say?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think that maybe we should keep what’s going on between us, just between us. Is that okay with you?”

“Absolutely!”

Joey had answered so quickly, Frank had to do a double take and try not to be the one that was offended.

“Do you think that jumping out of windows is my preferred exit route?” Joey laughed. “I meant what I said the other night. Slow and steady. I’ve never dated a guy with a kid...hell, I’ve never dated a guy while having a kid of my own!” she added. “But Mary already asked me if I liked you and I didn’t lie, I told her that I did. But I told her that we were friends and that wasn’t a lie either.”

“No it isn’t.” Frank grinned. “Good, so we’re on the same page. We’ll be sneaky until we’re ready to tell them.”

“Deal. And look, if things don’t work out between us….I just want you to know that I really like Mary and Sam just adores her. So I hope that we’d all manage to stay friendly, even if the worst happens.”

Frank nodded in agreement and walked with Joey to the back of her mother’s house and opened up the back gate for her to let Gus into the backyard.

“You guys really looked like you were hitting it off.” Frank pointed out the obvious so he didn’t have to leave her yet.

“She’s something else!” Joey happily exclaimed. “I’ve never discussed world economics and SpongeBob SquarePants in the same conversation before.”

“Oh man. I hope she didn’t talk your ear off.”

“No no, I loved it. We actually talked a lot about cafeteria food. And for the record, neither of us are a big fan. I’ve never met a little girl like her. I can see a lot of you in her.”

“Really? I mean, I’m not a big fan of cafeteria food either, but no one has ever said anything like that before.”

“I don’t believe that for a second! You guys are little carbon copies of each other. You laugh the same way and have the same dry sense of humor. It’s adorable. Listening to her complain about you cutting her course load, in her grumpy little way, sounded just like you!”

Joey hysterically laughed at the cute similarities between them, but she hadn’t notice that Frank had only cracked a small fake smile.

“I love the way that she speaks to Sam, too, by the way." Joey continued. “She never talks down to him and, from the little bit that I’ve seen of the two of you together, that’s exactly the way you are with her.”

Frank was surprised at Joey’s observations, but the more it he let them sit with him the more touching and meaningful they became. No one, other than maybe Bonnie, had spoken about his parenting skills in such a positive light before and the pride he felt created a hard lump in his throat.

Joey had no idea that he had just recently been dragged through court and had had to fight his mother tooth and nail to keep Mary and prove he could a decent guardian. Maybe if she had, Joey would have taken her praise a little bit more seriously and she would have realized how much it might mean to him.

Joey’s laughter trailed off when she noticed that Frank wasn’t laughing along with her. In fact, she could have sworn that he trying to hide the fact that he had tears in his eyes as he looked away and cleared his throat. The mood had changed and Joey had wondered if she had put her foot in her mouth.

“I’m sorry...she’s a great kid. That’s all I was trying to say. You did a great job raising her. I’d like her even if I didn’t have a huge crush on you.”

“Where were you three months ago?” Frank asked with a small chuckle.

“Huh?”

“You would have been a great character witness when I was fighting for custody.”

Joey’s big blue eyes became even bigger and her jaw hung open in shock. She had no idea what to say. Neither her mother nor Roberta had told her anything. Even her talkative boss, Sheryl, hadn’t said a word.

“I...I had no idea...that’s insane... Who?... Why?... Really? Why would someone? I’m sorry, my brain isn’t computing properly enough right now to complete full sentences.”

Frank checked his watch. He had a few minutes to kill before dinner so he motioned to porch steps beside them.

“Have a seat. It’s a great story...well, truthfully, it isn’t. But it has a happy ending.”

 


	11. "Perfectly Flawed"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey finally go on their first date.

**_*Two deleted scenes from Gifted are discussed in this chapter they can be found_** [HERE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVOzwoAqM1w) and [HERE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQipD1pEIwM)

Alice started to wonder if Joey had a freakishly heavy head as her leg started to go numb. But she continued to stroke Joey’s hair absentmindedly as the glow of their favourite movie filled her aunt’s dark living room.

Whenever Joey and Alice had a movie night, it wasn’t long before the two of them were cuddled up together into a huge ball. It had been that way ever since they'd been children. But, usually, it was Alice that started out using Joey’s lap as a pillow. So Alice knew that something was definitely up when her cousin became the cuddly one.

Alice opted to give Joey her space, knowing she'd talk eventually, and continued to play with her hair. She could practically hear the wheels turning in Joey’s head and knew that there was something heavy playing out in her mind. In fact, Joey had been acting strange ever since Alice had shown up that night.

Alice wiggled her toes to try and help her blood circulate and resigned herself to the caretaker role. It was the least she could do since Joey had played that role for her countless times over the years.

They had always been more than just cousins. Ever since Alice’s mother had died, they'd been more like sisters. There wasn’t much that they wouldn’t do for each other and, ever since Joey had moved back home, they seemed to pick up right where they had left off.

Neither one of them was really paying that much attention to the screen and Alice was waiting for Joey to finally open up. She knew it would only be a matter of time before Joey confessed what was bothering her. Alice just hoped that she wouldn’t lose all the feeling in her leg, in the meantime.

After the night that Alice had spent at Ferg’s listening to Frank go on and on about Joey, Alice had hoped that Joey’s romantic situation might have improved since then. Maybe she wasn’t even upset about Frank at all. It wasn't like Joey to sweat over men. Maybe Joey didn’t like her job? Alice knew Sheryl could be a trip sometimes.

 _Good thing you’re banging her son,_ Alice smirked to herself.

Much to Alice’s surprise, (and pleasure) Barry wasn’t half bad in bed. Alice had been impressed and continued to daydream about their night together until her leg went numb and she needed to get the show on the road and get Joey talking.

“Not hungry?” Alice asked as she pointed out the half eaten slice of pizza on Joey’s plate.

“Not really.” Joey sighed without looking up at her.

“It’s pineapple free…” Alice sung out.

“I know. Thank you. I just have a lot on my mind.”

That was the most that Joey had said all night and Alice knew that it was her cue. She reached for the remote and turned the movie off. They had watched The Breakfast Club so many times that they could practically recite it word for word.

Joey cursed herself for letting it slip that she was stressed and overwhelmed. She knew that Alice would drop everything for her, but Joey wasn’t sure where to start. Everything that was weighing on her felt like such a tangled mess and she didn’t want to impose.

But there was no getting out of it. Joey sat up and took a deep breath and Alice turned the lamp on, ready to give her her full attention.

Maybe it was the pale ashen look on Joey’s face, but Alice knew that whatever was bothering Joey was serious and that she needed her. She took her hand and demanded that she tell her everything.

Fifteen minutes of jumbled word vomit went by and Joey clumsily described Frank’s freakout and apology, as well as, Sam calling her mommy and how she felt like she was entering into a new phase in her life and all of the stress and doubt that came with it. But when she got to Frank’s surprising confession about the custody battle, Joey literally smacked her well meaning cousin out of the blue.

“Hey!” Alice shouted as she rubbed her arm. “What was that for?”

“Hey yourself! I had no idea! You could have given me a heads up!” Joey whined. “He told me the whole thing and I just sat there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot!”

“Dude, that’s his story to tell. Not mine.” Alice scoffed. “What did you say?”

“What could I say?” Joey sighed. “I mean, who does that? It didn’t even sound like his mother actually loved or wanted Mary in the first place. It was a lot to take in and my head was spinning. All I know is that Mary is where she belongs. I just wish they didn’t have to go through that.”

“I’m impressed that he actually told you.”

“Oh.” Joey realized that, based on their past history, there was a very good chance that Alice knew Frank a lot better than she did. “But you knew...didn’t he tell you?”

“Hell no. Frank and I aren’t that close.” Alice scoffed. “We’re barely friends now. Roberta told me all about it. She was a mess during the whole thing.”

“I know you’ve said that there’s nothing going on between you and Frank now... but don’t you find it strange that we’ve both have had the hots for the same guy? That’s never happened before.”

“Joe.” Alice laughed at the cute scrunched up face her cousin was making. “We still have never had the hots for the same guy. I barely recognize Frank nowadays.”

“Really?” Joey wasn’t sure how much she wanted to hear, but her curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to know everything about Frank and decided that a little gossip never hurt anyone. Maybe Sheryl was rubbing off on her. “What was he like back then?”

“Are you sure you wanna know?”

Joey excitedly nodded her head and Alice gave in since that the happiest she’d seen her all evening.

“The guy I fooled around with years ago was only interested in escaping reality and having meaningless fun. He sorta treated women the same way I treated men back then. Fun fact. I didn’t even know his name the first time we hooked up.”

“First time?” Joey gulped. Joey was starting to think that asking had been a bad idea.

“Not my finest moment. Even the second time we hooked up, I kept calling him Hank. But in my defense, it was a very very long time ago. The point is, Frank was never capable of anything more than a roll in the hay. He would keep everyone at arm's length. Especially women… actually arms length isn’t even far enough!” Alice laughed. “Until recently, he used his hot sad guy routine to get him laid. Women would line up for a chance to _‘fix him.’_ ” Alice used quotation fingers and rolled her eyes. “But the joke was always on them because he detested the idea of adding more commitment or responsibility to his plate. I was just smart enough to know what the score was with him from the beginning.”

Joey regretted asking and thought that she was going to be sick. The person that Alice had described didn’t sound like the Frank that she knew at all.

“But now?...I dunno about all of that.” Alice added, softly. “I think that custody case might have really shook him. He’s a totally different guy with you...thank god! I’d hate to have to mess up that handsome face of his if he hurt you!”

“Well that handsome face is taking me out tomorrow night.” Joey beamed. Knowing that Alice had seen a major change in him was comforting. “I know that he has his issues, but I’m not perfect either. I really don’t want to fix him. I like him the way he is. I kinda like the flawed, rough edges of him.”

“I have a date tomorrow night, too.” Alice added. “And trust me, I get how imperfections can somehow can have a way of becoming really endearing.”

If Joey wasn’t starry eyed thinking of Frank, she all but lost her mind when she saw Alice blush over a guy. That had to be a first.

“YOU LIKE A BOY!!” Joey gasped and bounced on the couch while she shook her cousin like a hyper little kid. “Like _ONE_ boy! One special boy! Oh man! This is amazing!”

“You’re the worst!” Alice groaned with laugher in her voice and pounced on her cousin and started wrestling with her on the couch.

 _“Alice has a boyfriend! Alice has a boyfriend!”_ Joey teasingly sung out as Alice tickled her sides and tried to pin her arms down. _“Alice and_... wait, what’s his name?”

“Barry, you dork.”

_“Alice and Barry sitting in a tree…”_

Alice grabbed a throw pillow and continued to smack Joey in the face with it to keep her from finishing the song. Joey, on the other hand, managed to find another pillow and fought back through her squeal and giggles.

They heard Jessie call out and reprimand them from her bedroom and they stopped and looked at each other for a second before they both burst out laughing again. That wasn’t the first time that they had gotten in trouble for play fighting and it felt like old times.

\-------------------------------------------------

Frank was running around the Friday morning trying to get Mary, not only, ready for school, but also ready for her weekly sleepover at Roberta’s later that night.

“Do you have everything for tonight?”

“Yes. I have my overnight bag packed already.”

“What about your DVD’s? Do you have all of the ones that you think you’re going to want to watch?”

“Well how am I going to know to know which ones I’m going to want to watch? I can’t see into the future.” Mary sassed as she stuffed her textbooks in her backpack.

Frank put his hands on his hips and tried to keep a straight face. Mary was adorable when she was snarky, but he really wanted to cover all of his bases and make sure that things ran smoothly. He’d been looking forward to taking Joey out for a week now.

“Do you remember the rules?” Frank asked.

“Yes.” Mary droned while she rolled her eyes.

“And what time are you coming back into the apartment on Saturday morning?”

“Noon.” Mary groaned.

Frank sighed and walked over to her and smoothed her blonde hair until she looked up at him and gave him a sweet smile.

“Still mad at me?”

“A little. But you could make it up to me by getting me a piano.”

“Not a chance.”

“It was worth a shot. Say, can we take Sam to the beach this weekend? I want to show him the sandpipers and show him which seashells are worth keeping.”

“I’ll ask Joey. I think she was planning on taking Gus, that dog loves the water.” Frank grinned. “You really like Sam, huh?”

“Ya, I do. He’s essentially still a baby. So it’s not like we have lengthy conversations. But he’s pretty cute and entertaining.”

“Yes. Yes he is.”

“Besides that, he needs me. I heard Roberta and Jessie talking about what happened to him.” Mary confessed as she struggled to zip up her backpack.

“What do you mean? What happened to him.” Frank stood up straighter and found himself on guard and protective of Sam. He had to remind himself that it wasn’t his place, but he had never felt that strongly for a child that wasn’t Mary. “What did you hear? Is he okay?”

“Yeah I guess, he’s okay now. But both of his parents _abandoned_ him.” Mary bitterly spit out. Frank looked visibly relieved, but concern was still written all over Mary’s face. “I’ve read studies that show, statically, an event like that has a very good chance of causing long term damage on a developing brain.”

“I think that Sam is going to be okay. Dr. Freud.”

“I think so, too. I mean, I’m fine.” Mary shrugged.

“Of course you’re fine. Why would you say that?” Frank asked as his eyebrows made a worried V shape again.

“Well Sam and I, we sorta have that in common. I mean, my mom...she...well, you know. And my dad has never even met me...he didn’t even want to see me when he was in town...”

Frank took a deep breath as he listened to her and hoped that she really was okay and not just putting on a front. He hadn’t realized how much she and Sam had in common. Of course, she would identify with him on some level. It was nice to see the sweet caring side of her come through.

“But I have you.” she added while Frank was deep in thought. “And Sam has Joey...and now Sam has me, too. I can show him the ropes and teach him that families are about people that care about you. It’s not emotionally healthy for him to believe that people just leave all the time.”

“It’s good to have compassion for others.” Frank proudly praised through the hard lump forming in his throat. Mary was growing up right before his eyes and he couldn’t have loved her more. “Empathy is very important. Sam is lucky to have you.”

“Well, hopefully he hasn’t sustained too much emotional damage. But just to be sure, I’m not gunna bail on him like his parents did and Joey sure won’t either.”

“No. No she won’t.” Frank answered with conviction. He didn’t doubt Joey’s commitment to Sam for a second.

Frank changed the subject and made a joke about how heavy Mary’s backpack was, when he sensed that Mary was gearing up to ask him more questions about Joey.

The less they talked about Joey and Sam, the better because Frank feared that more they spoke about them, the harder it would be for him to hide his feelings from Mary.

Little did he know, his true feelings for Joey and Sam had been written all over his face for days now and Mary didn’t have to be the gifted genius she was to figure it out.

\----------------------

Sheryl already suspected that something was going on. Joey was a very pleasant girl; she was Jessie’s daughter, after all. But this was different. It was as if the girl had been floating on air all morning.

“Seriously, Josephine Kincade. Are you high?” Sheryl teased. “Not that I mind, I just wish you’d share with an old lady or maybe wait to lite up until after our bridal meeting this afternoon.”

“Sadly, no. I’m not high.” Joey winked as she rearranged some of the bouquets in the flower cooler.

“What is it then? You look positively glowing and you’ve had a bounce in your step all day. Oh good Lord! You’re pregnant!” Sheryl gasped.

“No! My god!” Joey laughed at her nosey boss. “But I might have a hot date tonight.” Joey couldn’t contain her smile so she didn’t even try.

“I swear there must be something in the water. My son, Barry, has been going on and on about taking his lady friend out on the town tonight, as well. It isn’t you, is it?” Sheryl beamed. “You would make such a wonderful daughter in law, Joey!”

“Sheryl, Barry is a great guy. But…”

Just then, the shop’s door opened and Frank strolled in with a huge grin on his face and locked eyes with Joey behind the counter.

Joey was in awe. How in the world could that man keep getting better and better looking with every passing day?

“Well, aren’t you the definition of heart eyes, Ms. Kincade.” Sheryl knowingly smiled and elbowed Joey to snap her out of it. Joey definitely was not her son’s date for the evening, Sheryl could feel the energy between Joey and Frank fill her small flower shop in record time.

“What can we help you with, Mr. Adler?” Sheryl greeted him with a friendly smile. “You’re not seeking more apology flowers, I hope.”

“No no. Not today. I should probably keep a standing order though, just in case.” he charmingly jested. “But for now, I have a really important date tonight and I’m hoping to impress her.” Frank explained without taking his sexy blue eyes off Joey.

The little apron Joey was wearing was adorable and Frank was just itching to touch her. He wished that there wasn’t a counter between them because seeing that twinkle in her eye just took his breath away.

“She must be a very luck girl, Mr. Alder.” Joey played along and was rewarded with an even bigger smile from Frank.

“I don’t know about that.” Frank smoothly answered as his eyes slowly drank in as much of her body as he could see. “From where I’m standing, I’d say that _I’m_ the lucky one.”

“Oh you two are going to put me into diabetic shock with this sweetness!” Sheryl declare with a loud laugh. “But you’re in luck, young man, my hydrangea order came in a little early. I’ll whip you up something pretty in the back. You stay out here, Joey. No peeking!”

Joey smiled and looked into Frank’s eyes as Sheryl gathered the items she needed for her bouquet and headed to the back room. The pull that they felt towards each other was so strong and was building with every passing second. Joey just had to touch him.

The second that they heard the door to the back room close, Joey swiftly made her around the counter and practically flew into Frank’s arms. He didn’t miss a beat as he caught her and pressed his lips against hers.

She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck as he buried his hands into her soft hair and deepened their kiss. All Frank could smell was her sweet perfume and he let out a low groan from the back of his throat when he tasted her vanilla chapstick. You would think that he had jogged there the way that his heart was beating in his chest.

Joey was getting carried away as she ran her hands along his strong biceps and then up through his floppy hair. He must have spent the day at on the dock, because he smelled like a mixture of his body wash, the ocean, and a faint hint of motor oil. Every time he kissed her like that Joey felt like she was getting swept away. If she wasn’t careful she was going to fall in love with him before their first official date.

“You’re amazing.” Frank stated against her lips.

“Wow. I really like you.” Joey breathlessly stated before she kissed him again. In turn, Frank chuckled at her cute frankness and grabbed her ass firmly with both hands.

“Save some of that for tonight, Mr. Playa.” Joey purred. “I might be a sure thing, but I’m still at work.”

Frank nodded with a sly smile and let her go in time for them to hear the door chime ring with a new customer.

“Hello, welcome to Pushing Daisies.” Joey was giddy, but tried to pull herself together to greet the tall lady with the short blunt cut bob. The customer did not look very happy and Joey hoped that it hadn’t been obvious that her and Frank had just been making out in the middle of the shop. “Are you the bride we’ve been waiting for? Sheryl should be out in just a minute.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Joey sensed that Frank was beginning to tense up and stand up straighter. Sure enough, Joey’s eyes darted to him and he was squaring his shoulders with hatred burning behind his blue eyes. Joey had never seen him like that before.

Joey tried to remain professional and smiled at the lady and noticed that she was just as annoyed with Frank as he was with her.

“Dr. Golding.” Frank bitterly sneered through his teeth.

“Mr. Adler.” The lady nodded, looking visibly uncomfortable. “How is Mary?”

“She’s great. Thriving even. I see a lot of progress in this regard where it pertains to the minior.”

Frank didn’t want to make a scene, but this was the first time that he had seen Dr. Golding since the custody battle where she had sided with his mother and had claimed that he was an unfit guardian to Mary. He threw back at her the same words that she had used in court, and tried to keep his anger in check, but it was beyond difficult. Mary asking him if she had been the reason that Diane had committed suicide would never have happened if the doctor hadn’t put that idea into Mary’s head in the first place.

Dr. Golding smiled at Joey, but her eyes remain cold. There was something about the woman that Joey recognized from somewhere, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Dr. Golding, is it?” Joey politely inquired. “Would you like a cup of coffee or tea before you and Sheryl discuss your wedd-”

“You don’t remember me, do you?” The doctor cut Joey off with a cold edge in her voice. “Some things never change. This is Joey’s world and we all just live in it. I heard that you had moved back home with your mother.” The doctor laid on the fake sympathy as if she were speaking to a child.

Joey’s mouth hung open for a moment or two and she started to sweat. She had no idea who this woman was or what she had done to piss her off so badly. In another time or place, Joey might have put her in her place, but this was Joey’s first week at a job that she really needed. Matching attitude with attitude wasn’t smart.

“I’m so sorry. Dr. Gold-”

“Pat. Patricia Golding. I was a senior when you were a freshman. You had sex with the love of my life down at the docks then proceeded to tell the rest of the school what a slut you were. His name was Robert Middleton in case his name has been forgotten amongst all of your many conquests.”

Joey looked horrified and her pain effected Frank so deeply that he couldn’t let Dr. Goldings outrageous behaviour stand.

“Now that’s enough!” Frank shouted making both of the women jump. “You’re outta line, lady.”

“I promise, Pat, it was nothing like that. I didn’t - I never” Joey was near tears and her voice started to break when Frank placed his hand on her shoulder to lend his support.

Joey felt stupid for not remembering who she was. Patricia Golding and Robert Middleton had made her first year of high school a living hell.

“Well, all in all, I guess there was no harm done. We managed to survive your... _influence._ We’re still together and have a lovely little boy, Robbie Jr. and we’re getting married in a few months.” she bragged with an air of superiority.

Frank was still seething with anger, but he remembered the name Robbie Middleton from the night he and Bonnie spent playing drinking games at Ferg’s. Lovely little boy? Yeah right.

Knowing that the dear Dr. Golding had raised an evil soulless brat somehow made Frank feel vindicated. But if she kept going off on Joey, Frank was going to lose it.

“Congratulations on your engagement, Patricia. I just started here, but I’ve looked over Sheryl’s plans and I promise that your flower arrangements will be stunning.” Joey tried to recover some of her professionalism and attempted to steer the conversation back to a less humiliating topic.

“Oh, you don’t think I’m going to let you anywhere near my wedding, do you?” Patricia mockingly scoffed.

“I..I...I can assure you…” Joey stammered and Frank squeezed her shoulder a little harder to keep her from crying.

“I can assure you that Joey is a very talented florist.” Sheryl suddenly butted in and handed Frank a ridiculously large paper covered bouquet that completely eclipsed his head. “And I can vouch for her abilities. But if you insist on doubling my workload by having me service your event by myself, then I’m very sorry, but it will be reflected on your bill.”

“Very well.” Patricia huffed. “I guess that’s what happens when you’re the only florist in town.” She smiled with her teeth clenched.

“Please have a seat and I will be with you shortly.” Sheryl motioned to the back office and rolled her eyes the second that Patricia’s back was turned.

“Are you okay?” Frank turned Joey around when he noticed that she was having a hard time facing him and Sheryl.

“How do you know her?” Joey asked in between deep cleansing breaths.

“Court appointed child psychologist.” Frank explained as he tried to balance the over the top bouquet and pull Joey into a hug at the same time. “Let’s just say that she’s not that great at her job.”

“Great.” The thought of having that woman in anyway near Mary made Joey’s skin crawl. “I’m okay. I’m going to splash some cold water on my face. Are we still on for tonight?”

“Of course. What else I’m I gunna do with these?” Frank laughed and motioned to the huge bouquet in his hands.

He had managed to make her smile and Joey kissed his cheek and left for the bathroom. Frank, on the other hand, rested the bouquet on the counter and pulled out his wallet from his back pocket to pay Sheryl.

“No, Mr. Adler. Your money is no good here. I heard you tell that terrible, self important, fake smiling ...-”

“Blushing bride?” Sheryl couldn’t seem to finish her sentence so Frank playfully finished it for her.

Sheryl laughed and smacked his arm. “Yes. Blushing bride, indeed. I heard you tell her to back off Joey. I appreciate a man that knows when to take a stand. These are on the house. You just show that girl a good time tonight, ya hear?”

“Yes, ma’am, that’s the plan. Thank you, ma’am.”

“Enough with the ‘ma’am’ talk.” Sheryl order before she took her flask out from under the counter and took a long sip. “I’m going to need a few of these to deal with the future Robert Middleton. ‘Love of her life.’ Oh Please.” she moaned as she offered Frank a sip.

Frank sniffed the flask before taking a quick drink. Sheryl sure did liked her whiskey strong.

“This is their third trip down the aisle.” Sheryl disclosed as Frank handed her back her flask with a shocked smile. “Making all of their weddings look different is a challenge, but I think I’m getting soft in my old age. That man she’s marrying is a sad piece of work. I’m tempted to tell the wretched woman that her next wedding will be on the house if she found herself a new groom!”

“You’re such a romantic, Sheryl.” Frank chuckled as they shared another quick sip and she sent him on his way.

\-------------------------------------------------------

Frank made sure that he pulled out Joey’s chair for her as they sat down at the restaurant. It was a nice night so the decided to go through the restaurant and sit outside on the patio.

Joey looked stunning in her mid length black dress. It was simple and modest, but showed off her figure in the best possible way. She wore her hair down and had kept her makeup fairly natural. But it was the heels that she wore that made Frank’s heart skip a beat. He didn’t even care that they made her nearly as tall as he was, he just couldn’t stop looking at her. He must have been a saint in a previous life to deserve having a woman that beautiful on his arm.

Frank on the other hand, had not only impressed her when he picked her up wearing a suit and tie, but also with his oldschool charming forethought. To Joey’s surprise, Frank had taken the outrageously large bouquet that Sheryl had spoiled him with and had separated it into two more manageable ones so that he could not only give Joey one, but present the second one to her mother.

Jessie had nearly cried at the touching gesture, but had joked that she still wanted her baby girl home at a decent hour. Hydrangeas or no hydrangeas.

Before they'd left the house, Sam had come padding down the hallway looking for a glass of water and rubbing his little tired eyes. But he'd lit up when he'd seen Frank and had run to him with outstretched arms.  
  
Frank had happily greeted the toddler and had scooped him up while Joey had ruffed the little boy's hair and had let him smell her flowers.

“Pretty mommy!” Sam had giggled. His eyes had grown wide when he'd seen how dressed up Joey was. Then he had turned and had run his little fingers down Frank’s tie in awe and had blurted out, “Pretty Frank!”

“Yes, Sam. Frank is very _very_ pretty.” Joey had beamed at the two of them. “He cleans up quite nicely.”

Frank had blushed and had rolled his eyes as he had handed Sam to Jessie. The whole scene had warmed Joey’s heart and she had teased him and called him “pretty Frank,” all the way to restaurant to see if she could make him blush again.

“Is this place okay?” Frank peaked up from his menu when he noticed Joey nervously looking around the restaurant. “We can go somewhere else if you want.”

“Oh no, this place is fine. It’s just that I used to work here in high school. It’s nuts how not much has changed.”

“No kidding.” Frank smiled and tried to imagine a teenage Joey waiting tables.

The waiter came by and took their drink orders and Frank had to smile to himself when Joey, of course, ordered herself a margarita.

“What was your first job? Let me guess. Little Frank Adler had to be a paper boy back in the day.”

“No no no. I wanted to. I really did. I begged my mother. But she wasn’t having any of it.”

“Your mother sounds like quite the woman.” Joey pointed out the obvious and thanked the waiter for bringing their drinks so quickly.

“Is that what you want to talk about?” Frank chuckled. “My mother?”

“Oh, you really haven’t been on a lot of first dates before, have you, Alder? Discussing mommy issues is standard fare!” Joey teased with a lighthearted smile.

“Ha ha.” Frank mocked.

“Seriously though, I’ve just been thinking a lot about what you told me yesterday about the custody case and how you managed to keep Mary. I gotta say, it was a lot to take in.”

Frank leaned back in his chair and took a drink of his beer. “Try living through it.”

“I’m sorry you guys had to go through that. We don’t have to talk about it. I don’t mean to bring up a lot of bad memories.” Joey nervously laughed.

“It’s okay. I mean it. It’s fine.” Frank reassured her. “We can talk about it. What did you want to know? I’m an open book. Well, at least with you, I’m trying to be.”

“Well.” Joey rubbed her lips together and started slow. She had so many questions and didn’t know where to start. “What happened with your sister. That was terrible, not just how she died, but the kind of life that she lead. So I understand why you didn’t want history to repeat itself with Mary. I just don’t understand why you didn’t give your mother Diane’s theory right away when she first threatened to take Mary away?”

“Is that what you would have done? If it was Sam?”

“Probably.” Joey lied. If Sam’s well being was on the line, Joey knew damn well that there was nothing that she wouldn’t do for him.

“I don’t really have an easy answer to that.” Frank sighed. “I did consider it. But at first, I thought I could win in court and I wouldn’t have to play that hand. Then...well later, after hearing all of the ways that I was wrecking Mary’s life over and over again, I thought I didn’t deserve to win at all. But wrapped up in all of that, it was a lot of guilt and stubborn spite.”

“Guilt? What did you have to feel guilty about?”

“I just kinda glossed over Diane suicide yesterday. But, the truth was, she killed herself in my bathroom back in Boston.”

“Holy shit. Frank…I’m so sorry.”

“She needed to talk to me that night and I blew her off because I was running late for a date.” Frank couldn’t believe that this was what they were talking about on their first date, but on the other hand, baring his soul to Joey was surprisingly easy. “I get that it wasn’t my fault...but looking back, there were clues that she really needed me and I ignored them like a self centered jackass. Who knows, maybe if I had just stayed and talked to her that night...”

“Oh Frank. You can’t think like that.” Joey pleaded. “You are not responsible for her choices. You can’t change what happened. Beating yourself up isn’t going to bring her back or make your or Mary’s life any better.”

Joey was slowly starting to realize that seeing Frank upset had the ability to completely rip her heart out. She reached her open hand across the table and Frank leaned forward in his chair and took her hand in his. She swept her thumb across the top his hand and saw the sadness slowly start to fade from his blue eyes.

“I know that you’re right, but the guilt is still there. I tried to remain true to my sister’s wishes. I thought that that was the least that I could do ...after running out on her like that. Keeping that theory from Evelyn was the only thing that I could do to try and make it up to her.”

“That’s not true. You’re raising her daughter.” Joey quickly pointed out. “Mary is a wonderful little girl and she’s going to grow up to do great things one day because of you. I don’t think you realize how rare it is that you took her in and decided to raise her. Sam was Kevin’s own son and he bailed on him after only a couple of months.”

“Maybe it’s not so rare. Huh?” Frank gazed into her blue eyes and felt his chest ache. He was going to fall hard for this woman if she kept looking at him like that. The kindness in her eyes was simply breathtaking. “You took in Sam the same way I took in Mary.”

Joey smiled and linked their fingers together and Frank brought their joined hands to lips and kissed her hand.

“You know, even to this day, I thought that safeguarding her theory was the last connection that I had to my sister. But you’re right. Mary is my real connection to Diane. But I still really hope that she would understand why I had to give it to Evelyn.”

“I can only guess, but I think she would. I never met her, but she was a mother. I know that I’ve only been a mom for two minutes, but I’m sure that I would understand if I were in her shoes...And stubborn spite? What were you spiteful about?” Joey asked, but was unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

“Well, my mother and I have had a very complicated relationship.” Frank dryly stated.

“I gathered as much.” Joey smirked and let go of his hand to take another sip of her disappointing drink. The margaritas at Ferg’s were much better.

“You may have only two minutes under your belt, but trust me, you have her beat hands down in the motherhood department. She’s...headstrong and completely uncompromising.” Frank thought back to watching Joey roll round in the grass with Sam and wondered if she would ever be able to understand a woman like Evelyn. “The world is only as she sees it. You are either striving to be the elite in your field or you’re worthless. Not aspiring to greatness is the worst sin in her eyes. We’ve never seen eye to eye and I had to learn the hard way that we value very different things in life.”

“You know,” Joey sighed. “My mother always said that I should find a man that loved his mother. She thought it was the best indicator of a decent man.”

“Maybe Jessie is on to something.” Frank raised his eyebrow to imply that he wasn’t a decent man and puffed out a small laugh when Joey challenged him and mirrored his expression.

“Nah, I think I’ll take my chances with you.” Joey slyly smiled. “Mama’s boys are overrated, and besides, I’ve heard that they’re terrible in bed.”

Frank laughed so hard that he nearly choked on his beer. “You gotta understand, not everyone is lucky enough to have the same kind of relationship with their mother that you have with yours.”

“Smooth move with the flowers, by the way, that was a first. I thought she was going to cry. I bet you she’s at home right now trying to come up with my dowery!” Joey giggled.

“I don’t mind doing nice things for Jessie. She’s great. She’s always going out her way for people. I’ve always liked her. Even before I had the hots for her daughter.” Frank shamelessly flirted, “You’re a lot like her, you know.”

“I think that that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Adler.” Joey shyly smiled.

“Well I’ll have to think of a way to top that then. I don’t think that it’ll be that difficult to tell you the truth.”

“Nice deflection. But I think we were talking about _your_ mother.” Joey winked. “So spite was another reason you kept Diane’s theory? That’s kinda dark. Not many men would admit to something like that.”

“Well I’m a pretty flawed guy.” Frank grinned. “Look, I don’t hate Evelyn, in a lot of respects I feel sorry for her. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a certain degree of pleasure in keeping Diane’s theory from her, even though it was Diane’s final wish. Being her son wasn’t easy, but in the end, Mary is more important than any of my revenge fantasies.”

“Here here.” Joey agreed and raised her glass. “To Mary, and hot flawed men.”

Frank loved her cheesiness, it was so endearing. He had confessed his guilt over his sister death maybe three times since it happened seven years ago, but he had never felt lighter afterwords. Joey really was something else.

“How about, to Mary, flaws, and to margaritas.” Frank teased. “Do you want another one?”

“No thank you. These are terrible. But I’m starving, though.”

When the waiter returned, they ordered their food. Frank had the seafood linguine and Joey had the shrimp tacos. Both of them were drooling over what the other one had ordered and they ended up laughing and sharing with each other. It was so easy, Frank should have known that something would happen to mess it up.

They were halfway through their meal when the good ol’ Dr. Golding and, who Frank assumed was her fiance, were seated at the table behind them. Frank tried to keep his annoyance from registering on his face, but Joey had picked up up on his mood right away.

“What? What’s wrong? Do I have food stuck in my teeth or something?” Joey smiled and slowly rubbed her foot against Frank’s leg under the table.

“No, you’re gorgeous.” Frank flattered her with a dark hum in his voice to let her know that he enjoyed her flirting with him under the table. “Wanna get out of here? Maybe I’ll take you to Ferg’s and get you a decent margarita? I believe I still owe you one.”

Joey noticed that Frank’s eyes kept looking at something behind her and Joey couldn’t help but naturally turn around to find out what he was looking at.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me.” Joey mumbled under her breath when she saw Patricia and Robert. Robert had put on a good thirty pounds since she had last seen him, but Joey would know that smug face anywhere.

“One of the benefits of living in a small town, I guess.” Frank sympathetically smiled. “You get to run into all the people that you’d like to avoid. Back when I was the town’s brooding loner, I got to avoid all of these embarrassing social situations.”

“Sorry to drag you out of your cave.” Joey sarcastically groaned.

“Don’t worry.” Frank chuckled. “I’ll get the check. ”

“Wait.” Joey blurted before she took a deep breath and tried to center herself. “What were your plans before they showed up?”

“If the night was nice, I was going to see if you wanted to go for a walk along the pier.”

“Let’s do that, then.” Joey said with conviction. “Fuck those guys.”

Frank nodded and quickly paid the bill and put his suit jacket back on and polished off the last of his beer, while Joey silently hoped that they hadn’t been spotted yet. But of course, they had to walk past the other table to exit the restaurant so Joey tried to hold her head up high as they sailed past them. Having Frank’s hand on the small of her back helped make her feel stronger and more confident.

Just when Joey had thought that they were home free, they heard Robert obnoxiously announce, “Well well well, if it isn’t the lovely Josephine Kincade!” to their backs.

Hearing Robert’s voice made Joey’s footing falter slightly and Frank looked back and shot the man a cold hard stare in the hopes of getting him to back off.

“Looking good, Joey.” Robert praised loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. “The years have been very kind to you.”

“Wish I could say the same.” Joey coldly snapped without missing a beat.

Frank opened the door for Joey and tried not to laugh when he saw Dr. Golding furiously smack her fiance and admonish him through her gritted teeth for practically hitting on another woman with her sitting right there.

“Are you okay?” Frank asked with laughter in his voice as they walked down towards the pier.

“I’m okay. I’m sorry that you had to see all of the day today.” Joey apologized. “Getting chewed out in front of you and my new boss...talk about embarrassing. I promise, I’m usually pretty boring. I’m not sure where all of this drama is coming from all of a sudden.”

“It’s okay, we’ve all have done things in our pasts that we’re not proud of. I’m a shining example.” Frank grinned and bumped her shoulder with his to get her to smile. “I have a few exes that make him look down right charming.”

“Good to know. But Robert Middleton is not an ex. Not even close. More like my arch nemesis. I would never let that dumb jock touch me.” Joey wrapped her arms around herself and shivered so Frank jumped into action and automatically took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Thanks. Between the flowers and the coat, you’ve got this chivalry thing down to a science.”

Joey couldn’t get enough of the shy boyish smirk that Frank tried to hide whenever she complimented him. Making him happy made her chest ache in such a good way.

“Thanks, I’m trying to impress my date. How I’m I doing?”

“A+” Joey smiled and took his hand as they walked along the long pier.

Joey loved that his jacket smelled like him and that she got him all to herself that night. She didn’t want to let anyone ruin their time together and walking along the pier was a very nice romantic touch. Joey wasn’t lying, she was very impressed with Frank. She believed wholeheartedly that the man that Alice had described to her the other night wasn’t the man she was walking hand in hand with.

“Not that it really matters, but if that aging high school quarterback isn’t an ex then why is the dear Dr. Golding so pissed at you then? I don’t get it.”

Joey stopped walking and let go of his hand as she leaned up against railing and looked down the beach. There was something written on her face that Frank couldn’t exactly read. It was almost reminded him of the dignified way that she tried to hide how upset she was seconds before he ran out on her the other night.

“There.” After a moment or two, Joey stretched out her arm and pointed down the shoreline. “Do you see that clearing by the beach? About a mile or two away.” Frank could barely see where she was pointing to in the dark, but nodded his head anyway. “I think there’s a playground there now. But it used to be a set of docks where kids used to ‘park,’ if you know what I mean.”

“Okay?”

“That’s where he took me. I was a dumb 14 year old freshman, whose boobs were just about as big as they are now and I thought that a cool senior boy actually liked me.”

Frank rubbed her back and swallowed hard. There was something in her voice that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up him. He had no idea that things were going to get this dark when he asked the question. Now, all he wanted to do hold was her and protect her from her memories.

“Robert lied and took me there when he said that he was going to drive me home from work. I had no idea that he had a girlfriend. I’d been in high school for maybe a week at the time and I didn’t know that Patricia even existed. I didn’t really know anything about boys either. All I knew was that he was popular and I liked the attention. I was so stupid.”

“Joe, don’t say that.” Frank assumed the worst and the thought of that dickhead hurting her, made him want to double back to the restaurant and beat the crap out of him.

“Well, to make a long story short, let's just say, he didn’t want to take no for an answer and I ended up knocking one of his teeth out.”

“Good for you.” Frank angrily spat out with a growl like cheer.

“He didn’t...you know.” Joey filled her lungs with the cold crisp ocean air before she said the words out loud. “He didn’t _rape_ me. But left me there. I mean, it could have been a lot worse. That could have been my first time. Instead, I had to walk home in a ripped dress and a swollen lip.”

“That bastard hit you?” Frank looked back in the direction of the restaurant. He’d love to get his hands on him.

“He slapped me after I hit him with the rock.”

“A rock?” Frank exclaimed before a smile broke out across his face. “I’m impressed.”

“What? Did you think I knocked his tooth out with my bare hands?” Joey laughed. “I’m only a ninja when I’m jumping out of cute boy’s windows, Alder.”

“Did you ever press charges, Bruce Lee?”

“Hell no. Alice is the only one I ever told. Like I said, I was young and dumb. But in the end, I think I got even.”

“How so?” Frank asked as she turned around and leaned her back up against the railing. She looked like a little kid wearing his large jacket. She couldn’t have been more adorable.

“Well, he told everyone that we had sex. It was mortifying and I knew that no one would believe me. So I might have I told few people what he was like in bed.” A small smirk crossed her face.

“What? You told him what a limp dick date raping bastard he was?” Frank joylessly teased.

“No. But I might have made a few thing up and mentioned how it was odd that he could only get hard if he listened to the Backstreet Boys first and that he shouted _‘thank you mother, I’m a good boy’_ when he came.”

Joey couldn’t help, but burst out laughing at the memory and he clutched his chest and laughed along with her.

“It was pretty effective, too, because I heard that his teammates would sing ‘I Want it that Way’ in the locker room to mess with him.”

“Savage!” Frank praised as he pulled her into a hug. “But it still sucks that that happened to you. He sounds like a real ass hat. I’m tempted to go back there and knock some more of his teeth out.” he stated with his chin on top of her head. “I hope that he and the good Dr. Golding make each other miserable for many years to come.”

“He was an asshat. She wasn’t much better as I recall. But in her defence, she always thought that I slept with her boyfriend. But they graduated later that year and went away to school, and I didn’t have to see them again.”

“Until today.”

“Yeah. And the sad thing was, I was pretty much branded a homewrecker after that. _‘Watch out for Joey cause she’ll steal your man’_. I didn’t date much during high school and I kept my circle small.”

Frank remembered what Alice had told him at Ferg’s; how Joey was ready to blow him off if Alice still had feelings for him. Joey must have been super vigilant not to live up to her reputation after her run in with that Middleton punk.

It made Frank sad that she still carried that kind of baggage with her into her adulthood. But as he held her on that pier, he realized that the more that he knew her, the more that Frank cared about her; flaws and all.

He brushed his chin against her soft hair and had to wonder to himself if this was what love was supposed to feel like. It had to be love or at least the closest thing to it, he’d felt in a long time. The funny thing was, it didn’t scared him; on the contrary, he really liked the feeling and wanted more of it. Frank listened to the waves crash against the pier and a part of him that knew that he would remember this moment for the rest of his life.

Frank’s body felt so warm, Joey didn’t want to move so she rested her head against his chest and breathed in more his scent. She was worried that telling him about what had happened years ago would change the way that he saw her. She hated the idea of being looked at as a victim, but as she looked up at him, all she saw was admiration twinkling back in his dreamy blue eyes.

She had never felt so safe in her life. It was a peace that she had wished she could put into words but there was no need because for some reason she knew in her heart that Frank was feeling the same way as he looked down at her.

“Did you want to call it a night, Kincade?” he asked as he kissed her forehead.

All of the air caught in her throat as she looked up at him and she couldn’t answer him. Her heart felt so open and vulnerable. Joey knew that she was falling in love with him and didn’t know how to stop. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. He was just such a perfectly flawed man and she was in awe of how present and real he was with her. She just couldn’t help it.

She absolutely adored him, but remembered that they had agreed to go slow. She didn’t want to confess how she was feeling for fear that it would freak him out. She really wanted to see where their relationship would take them, and couldn’t risk losing him by rushing things.

“It’s still early, we could go to Ferg’s and get a drink …” Frank said as he collected her hair in his hands and held it at the base of her neck. “...or if you wanted to...we could…”

Frank was about to ask her if she wanted to go back to his place and completely throw their three date rule out the window. But the way that she was looking up at him made his heart skip a beat and he just had to kiss her before he finished his sentence.

Joey passionately kissed him back and felt him shiver when she ran his hands down his back.

“Don’t tell my date, but I am actually freezing out here.” Frank whispered against her lips.

“Your secret is safe with me.” she whispered back “But I think that she would understand.”

“I think that she would, too.” Frank grinned. “She’s kinda good like that.”

“Want your coat back?” Joey giggled as she rubbed her nose against his.

“No, no, chivalry, remember?” he insisted and made an exaggerated motion for her to take his arm like a gentleman, which she happily accepted with her best curtsy.

The two of them quickly made their way back down the pier and Joey couldn’t stop laughing at Frank’s attempts to cuddle up against her to try and stay warm. She enjoyed the snuggles, but the wind had started to pick up and Joey knew that he must be really cold.

Frank and Joey heard the angry voices before they actually spotted the second couple on the pier walking towards them. Robert and Patricia were arguing loudly and must have thought that they were alone. Unfortunately, there was nothing that Frank and Joey could do, their paths would have to cross again, unless they wanted to swim back to the shore.

“We just can’t catch a break tonight, huh? You got this, Bruce Lee.” Frank praised in her ear.

“Too bad there’s no rocks around here for me to protect you with.” Joey teased and kissed his cheek while he burst out laughing. That laugh of his was quickly becoming her happy place.

They were just a few feet from them and Joey had every intention of minding her own business and swiftly walking past them. But Frank had other plans and started to sing as many of the lyrics to “I Want it that Way,” by the Backstreet Boys, as he could remember.

Joey had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. Frank was such a smartass and she loved it.

 _“Am I your fire? Your one desire. Yes I know it’s toooooo late. But I want it THAT way!”_ he unabashedly sung out into the night.

Joey was actually impressed that Frank had a half decent singing voice, but she still smacked his arm to get him to stop. He couldn’t stop giggling and she pulled his arm closer to her and pressed her face against his bicep to keep herself from laughing as well.

“I didn’t know that you were a fan of boy bands.” Joey groaned into his arm with laughter in her voice.

 _“Backstreets back. ALRIGHT! Dun dun dun…”_ Frank hummed the first few bars and burst out singing again. _“Everybody! Rock your Body!”_

“That’s a different one, dummy!” Joey giggled.

“HEY! YOU! Yeah you over there. Got something to say to me, buddy?” Robert had overheard Frank singing and he knew that they were making fun of him and he wasn’t happy about it at all.

Apparently, he also must have only had Jack Daniels for dinner based on the way that he was slurring his words.

“Robert, we’re not doing this. Shut up and give me the keys!” Dr. Golding sharply barked her orders at her large staggering fiance.

“No no, I think this guy has something he wants to say...so let’s hear it, tough guy!”

“Ah fuck.” Joey muttered under her breath. She knew that this wasn’t going to end well.

 


	12. "Overachievers"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey go back to his place.

Joey had been doing a great job of keeping her cool as she pulled up to Frank’s house after their disaster of a date. But as soon as she put Frank’s truck into park and pulled the keys out of the ignition, she felt her adrenaline start to wear off and her hands began to shake.

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to take you to the hospital?” she asked him for what had to be the tenth time since they had left the pier.

“I’m fine, Joe. I just need some ice.” Frank groaned from the passenger seat. “And maybe some Advil, too.”

For as much of a smartass as Frank was, he had tried really hard not to get into a fight with Robert on the pier, but it had been unavoidable. From what Joey had  remembered of him, Robert had always been a cruel, small minded bully that was used to having his ass kissed and Frank had had nothing but disdain for him since learning how Robert had tried to hurt Joey years go. It had been a volatile mix that was bound to explode.

To his credit, Frank had tried to defuse the situation, albeit halfheartedly, by telling Robert that he wasn’t looking for trouble and that he was just having a nice, _consensual_ evening with his girlfriend.

Joey had been delightfully caught off guard when Frank openly referred to her as his girlfriend. But it had been the emphasis that Frank had put on the word _‘consensual’_ that had set Robert off and, before they'd known what was happening, Robert had sucker punched Frank in the face. There had been a scuffle and Frank had ended up giving as good as he'd gotten, at first. But it had been the kick that Robert had managed to land to Frank’s ribs that had caused the most damage and that really concerned Joey.

“Are you sure? Your ribs could be broken.” Joey pleaded with concern.

“They aren't broken, I know the difference. I’m fine.” Frank swallowed hard and looked out the window. He could hear the fear in her voice and felt ashamed that he had let things get so out of hand. Getting his ass kicked by a drunk, overweight, balding, ex highschool football jock wasn’t exactly how he’d hoped that their night would end.

“You’ve had your ribs broken before?”

“That’s a story for another day. Let’s just say that this wasn’t my first run in with a drunk idiot.”

The two of them sat there for a moment in silence. Neither of them knew what to say to the other.

Joey hoped that Frank was telling her the truth and that he was okay. Watching the two men fight had been horrifying for her. Luckily for them, there had been a teenager filming the whole thing or Dr. Golding would have gotten Frank thrown in jail.

“ _Looks like you’re gunna have to see your dentist again,’_ ” Joey giggled as she repeated what Frank had said to Robert after the fight had ended and they'd noticed that Robert had been missing yet another tooth. “You did say that you wanted to knock some more of his teeth out.”

“Well, I’m a man of my word.” Hearing Joey giggle put Frank in a much better mood and he started to laugh along with her until his wounded cheek started to hurt. “I love how you put the dear Dr. Golding in her place, though.”

“I wasn’t too mean was I?”

“Not at all, watching you stand your ground was hot as hell.” Frank praised with a charming smile. "I have a feeling that that showdown was a long time coming.”

When the fight had ended and the two men had been trying to catch their breath, Patricia had demanded to know what Joey and Frank had been even doing in that "part of town", implying that they hadn't belonged there in the first place, and had made a snarky comment about how a dive bar like Ferg’s would be more their style.

Without missing a beat Joey had told her that she much preferred the clientele at a place like Ferg’s since the patrons there were far less pompous and sanctimonious. As if on cue, Robert had started to vomit over the side of the pier and Joey hadn't been able to resist adding, that they also had much more experience holding their liquor.

Patricia had completely lost her cool and a string of insults had followed where she'd viciously called Joey every name in the book while Joey ignored her to help Frank off the ground. Everyone involved had a sense that the woman was finally releasing years of pent up anger and animosity that she had felt towards Joey for supposedly sleeping with Robert back in highschool.

A part of Joey had felt sorry that Patricia had never moved on until it dawned on Joey that she had been holding on to similar emotions for years, as well. In that moment, Joey had decided she was done playing nice with that rude, clueless woman. Joey wasn’t a scared fourteen year old girl anymore and she was done wearing her stupid and unwarranted scarlet letter.

Standing her ground, Joey had went toe to toe with the other woman and had unleashed her own anger and had spit out the truth about what had happened that night at the docks between her and Robert and had called Patricia an idiot for standing by him all those years.

Something had seemed to click in behind Patricia’s angry eyes when Joey had asked her, “How do you think he lost his tooth, genius? I had to defend myself!” Joey had softened when she'd sensed that there was a part of Patricia that believed her and she had finished by asking Patricia how much longer she was going to let him humiliate her.

Joey’s question had never been answered because the cops had shown up moments later and everyone involved had had to face the music.

“Come on, Alder.” Joey announced as she handed him the keys to his truck. “Let’s fix that handsome face of yours and get you some ice.”

Frank led the way and unlocked his door. He threw his keys down on the kitchen table and went straight for the fridge.

Joey closed the door behind them and assumed that he was going into the fridge for ice, but, instead, he handed her a beer and grabbed another one for himself and placed it against his cheek with a sad wince.

“I really am sorry about all of that.” Frank apologized as he bent down with a groan and threw a pingpong ball for Fred, who had come to investigate who was home. “I really didn’t want the night to end like that.”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing.” Joey insisted as she took off his suit jacket that she'd been wearing and put it on the back of one of his kitchen chairs. “I was there, you know. He threw the first punch...and, besides, the night isn’t over yet.”

They clinked their beer bottles to cheers at her optimism and Frank took a seat at the kitchen table and pulled his tie off and kicked off his shoes to get more comfortable.

Bob had gotten curious about their pretty new visitor and had bravely jumped up on the kitchen counter where Joey was standing to get a better look at her. Joey sipped her beer and stroked the cat until he started purring loudly, obviously overcome by all of the attention she was showering on him.

Frank let the coolness of his beer bottle soothe his bruised cheek as he watched Joey play with his usually shy and antisocial cat. Bob was falling for her the same way that he had. He couldn’t help but notice the way Joey looked in his kitchen, it was like she belonged in his home.

Normally, Frank would have been freaked out by those feelings, but those days were over. Holding her on that pier had changed him and he was ready to accept the fact that he felt more for Joey then he had previously let on.

“Here, let me see that.” Joey smiled and walked over to him when she caught him watching her with a dreamy look in his eye.

Frank lowered the bottle away from his cheek and she lifted his chin with her fingers and directed his face towards the light. She looked adorable as she thoughtfully studied his face. It warmed his heart that she was concerned for him, but other than a bruised ego, he was fine.

“What’s the verdict, Dr. Kincade?”

“You’ll live. Let me get you some real ice, though.” Joey turned to leave, but he grabbed her hand.

She smirked and tried to tug her hand away, but he playfully held on until she bent down and placed a kiss on his forehead.

“Damn, you smell so good, Joe.” he praised with a dark rich hum in his voice.

She closed her eyes and placed a second kiss to his forehead and felt his hands run up her thighs and rest on her hips. She enjoyed his touch and wondered if his hands were her favorite feature of his until he leaned forward ever so slightly and pressed his lips against her collarbone. Then the delicious scratch of his beard quickly became a new contender.

He looked up at her and when their blue eyes met, time seemed to stop for both of them. It amazed both of them how strong their connection was in such a short time. It seemed to always be there; lingering just below the surface, just waiting for the two of them to indulge in when they were together. She held his intense gaze in the dim kitchen and tenderly ran her fingers through his hair and cupped his face between her hands.

“Take your shirt off, Alder.” she softly ordered. He tightened his grip on her hips and she could have sworn that she saw his pupils dilate at her request. “Don’t get too excited, I just want to see your ribs.”

Frank licked his lips and shook his head. She had him going there for a second and he was grateful that he hadn't gone with his first impulse to throw her over his shoulder and head to his bedroom like a caveman.

“You know there are more fun ways to see me naked than playing doctor.”

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?” Joey teased with a sexy smile until a sad, heavy look crossed her eyes. He sensed the change in her mood and he cupped her face in his hand and caressed his thumb across her cheek. “I never want to see you get hurt again, Frank. Please let me look after you.”

“Shh.” he soothed and pulled her into his lap. “I’m okay, Joe.”

Joey rested her head on his shoulder and felt him wince when her body weight pressed against his side. She didn’t want to hurt him so she tried to slide off of him, but he wrapped his arms around her to keep her in his lap.

“I’m just bruised. On the brightside, I do have all of my teeth.”

Joey puffed out a small laugh as she wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes.

“Did you want to talk about what that cop said?” Frank carefully asked into her hair.

Luckily for them, the fight between Frank and Robert had broken out fairly close to the entrance to the pier and there had been a lot of people still coming and going from the restaurant that had seen everything go down.

Three different people had already called the police when they'd witnessed Robert sucker punch Frank and the cops had been on the scene in record time. Probably because they'd been in a fancier part of town that didn’t tolerate brawls breaking out and scaring away rich tourists.

Joey still couldn’t believe the nerve of Dr. Golding when she'd claimed that Frank had been the one that had started the fight and had accused, in front of everyone, that Frank had violent tendencies. If the teenager hadn’t stepped up and shown the police his video footage from the fight, Frank could have easily been sitting jail instead of in his kitchen with her.

Unfortunately, the police officer on the scene had initially believed Dr. Golding when he'd recognized Joey. Well, more accurately, when he'd recognized her and recalled who her estranged father was and had assumed that the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree.

“There’s not much to talk about," Joey told Frank. "Mitch Clauson is my biological father. That cop had probably arrested him a dozen times over the years. I’m not sure how he knew that I was his daughter, but I don’t really blame him for thinking that a Clauson was caught up in something violent or illegal. Stuff like that was why I moved so far away from home as soon as I could afford a plane ticket.”

Frank had heard of the name Clauson before. Mostly because of town gossip, but sometimes he’d seen his name in the newspapers. He lived a few counties away and was the grandson of a former congressman that was seemingly apart of numerous criminal enterprises. Drugs mostly. But Frank had heard rumors about illegal gambling and dog fighting, too.

All of which was pretty odd considering his fine, upstanding appearance. The Clauson family influence had pretty much bailed him out of facing any legal consequences. Frank had a hard time believing that he was actually Joey’s father or that a woman like Jessie would have ever had anything to do with a man like that. But then again, Jessie did have Joey at a young age. Frank had no right to judge considering some of the terrible choices he had made in his youth.

“That’s not fair, though.” Frank insisted. “You can’t choose who your father is.”

“I know.” Joey sighed. “Trust me, if I could choose, he’d be my last choice. I haven’t spoken to Mitch since he crashed my high school graduation and announced to the whole auditorium that his baby girl should have been the valedictorian and claimed that they were all conspiring against him.”

“Oh shit.”

“Yeah, good times.” Joey laughed, bitterly. “I moved away the very next day. Before my graduation, the last time I'd seen him I was ten years old. Who knows how much he had to drink for him to call me his baby girl. He knew I despised him. The worst was watching him get dragged out after he, literally, threw a bunch of money in my principal's face. He’s such an asshole.”

“Sounds like it.”

“I don’t even know the man and I doubt that he could even pick me out of a lineup. But that doesn’t stop shit like this from happening to me. I’m starting to think that it doesn’t matter what I do with my life. I’ll always just be Mitch Clauson’s daughter.”

“Don’t say that.” Frank soothed as he rubbed her back. “You’re Joey Kincade. You’re a smart, funny and insanely hot florist. But you have daddy issues. Well, guess what? You’re in good company, I have mommy issues, remember?”

“We’re perfect for each other, aren’t we?” Joey sweetly smiled as she ran her nose up Frank’s cheek. She hadn’t thought about her father in years and she had always assumed that if the subject ever came up again that she would fall apart. She hadn't though; Frank had an uncanny ability to hold her together and pull her out of even her darkest thoughts. The way that he looked at her left no doubt in her mind that her father’s misdeeds meant nothing to him and didn’t effect how he saw her.

Frank really was something else and Joey wanted to tell him how much he meant to her. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t risk scaring him away. They had agreed to take things slow and she couldn’t get carried away.

Frank let out a hum as he kissed her temple and ran his hands down to her feet and pushed her heels off and let the shoes fall to the floor.

There was a part of him that couldn’t believe that she was there with him after the way that their night had ended. But there she was. Joey was there with him, with the real him, no less. And she was fussing over his bruises and leaving small stray kisses along his cheek, neck and jaw.

Joey liked the real him and was caring for him a way that he couldn’t remember a women caring for him in a very, very long time. Those old self hating voices in his head that had told him that he didn’t deserve that kind of happiness were slowing being silenced by the kindness of the woman sitting on his lap. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was the one for him. He was going to fall for her; that was, if he wasn’t in love with her already. How could he not be?

Frank was grateful that he hadn't just fallen into bed with her the first chance that he'd gotten. After waiting, she had become his friend and that only made her more precious to him. All of those thoughts danced around his head as she slowly and lovingly tried to kiss away all of his pain.

After the fight, standing there on that pier while Patricia had lied to the police, the two of them had became united as a team. Joey had stood up for him without hesitation and had bravely refuted all of Dr. Goldings lies until that kid had come forward with his cell phone video. If Joey hadn’t spoken up, Frank knew that he had been seconds away from ending up in handcuffs and that would have been mortifying.

To return the favor, when Robert had stopped vomiting over the pier, he had called Joey a lying bitch and had angrily stumbled over towards her. Without considering the consequences, Frank had clenched his fists and had stood in front of her and had been ready for round two to start. Even though Frank had been in rough shape, and the cops were standing right there taking statements, there hadn't been a snowball's chance in hell that he would have let that dumb jock anywhere near her again.

Having Joey stand by him had meant more to Frank than anything, so putting himself in harm’s way to protect her had been a no brainer. He hadn't thought twice about it and he had refused to back down. Luckily, the cops had stopped anything further from happening and it was Robert, and not Frank, who was spending the night in the drunk tank.

Joey got more comfortable in Frank’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the way he smelled. It was peaceful in his kitchen and, other than the odd rustle somewhere in the house where Fred was playing with his ping pong ball, all they could hear was the hum of the refrigerator and each other’s breath.

“Are you sure that you’re okay?” Frank quietly asked, breaking their peaceful silence.

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Joey replied with a sweet smile as she took his hand and inspected the scratches on his knuckles. “I’m okay. But I mean it, Frank, I never want to see you get hurt like that again. I swear it was like I could feel every punch or kick….what Pat said, about you getting into fights all the time. Is that true?”

“It’s not a regular occurance. But it’s happened a few times.” Frank quietly confessed. Joey was in the process of placing a small kiss on each of his knuckles, but abandoned her task and looked up at him. He hated the look of disappointment and fear in her eyes, but he wasn’t going to lie to her. “The last time, a guy at Ferg’s didn’t like that I was hooking up with his estranged wife. He was drunk and I was defending myself, but I still had to spend the night in jail. Dr. Golding was there during the custody trial. My mother’s fancy lawyer tried to make me look like a thug.”

“I think I hated every single thing that you just said.” Joey puffed out a laugh and Frank chuckled along with her. “But thanks for not sugar coating it.”

“Speaking of sugar…” Frank hummed and pulled her face down to his and kissed her lips.

She kissed him back, but giggled at his cheesiness. He tasted so good and being in his arms gave her such a safe and warm feeling. But the more she tasted his lips, the more turned on she became. She’d give anything to spend the night with him, but they had agreed to go slow and still had two more dates to get through before she could rip his clothes off. But fortunately (or unfortunately), Frank was a very quick study and knew just how she liked to be touched and kissed and she found her resolve slowly slipping away.

“Making out with you feels good, Alder. Too good.” Joey whispered and rubbed her nose against his. “I should go home before we cross the line.”

“Stay.” Frank whispered back as his hand traveled up her leg and rested on her thigh under her dress. “Stay with me tonight.”

Joey shifted slightly in his lap and silently hoped that his hand would go further up her leg. She was aching for him and desperately wanted him to touch her.

“Frank…” Joey tried to resist, but he was just so irresistible. His eyes searched hers for her answer, but she opted for kissing the corner of his mouth and flicking her tongue across his full bottom lip instead. He quickly captured her bottom lip between his and let out a deep, primal groan that made her even wetter.

Joey could feel how hard he was growing beneath her. Their kiss was becoming more passionate and they were getting carried away, but neither seemed to know how to stop.

Frank stood up with her in her arms and set her down on her feet in front of the sink without separating their lips.

Joey felt like she was on a roller coaster as she grabbed his ass with both hands and tried to pull him closer to her. He pressed his clothed erection against her so she could feel the effect that she was having on him. He let her have her way as she kissed his neck and dragged her teeth along his jawline.

When she was turned on, Frank was quickly learning that Joey was a powerful unstoppable force of nature and he loved every second of it. Finally getting her into bed and witnessing her unleashing her passion was going to be so satisfying, he just knew it. But he had to double check and make sure that she was okay with taking the next step.

“Joey?” Frank held her face and pried her lips from his neck so that she would focus on what he was saying. Her big blue eyes met his and his heart skipped a beat when he found nothing but raw lust staring back at him. How could this woman be such equal parts beautiful and sexy? He’d never met another woman like her. “Are you sure? Fuck, please be sure.”

“I want you, that’s never changed, Frank.” Joey needed to taste him again, but he was holding her in place so tightly that she couldn't move. Instead, she licked her lips and stared at his mouth. “I’m sure, but promise me something, Adler.”

Frank nodded his head and the sincere and intense look in his eye made Joey’s knees go weak. It felt like he had opened his soul to her and that she could ask him anything under the sun and he would give her an honest answer. There was no turning back. When Frank let her in, Joey was completely and utterly his.

“Don’t regret me, okay. If this is too fast, please say so and I’ll go home...because I do want you. But not just for tonight, Frank. I want _you._ ” She confessed as she placed her hand over his heart. “I want you in my life and I can wait for you to be ready. Because the thing is,” Joey took her hand off his chest and placed it over her own racing heart. “This is moving fast for me, too, and I don’t know if I could bare it if you got scared and ran out on me again.”

That was it. Joey repeated the words that Frank had confessed to her that night on her mother’s porch and that was the moment when Frank knew for sure that he was in love. It was so powerful yet pure at the same time. Joey wanted a tomorrow with him. She had heard all of his fears, and had understood his weaknesses and she knew that there was a possibility that he would overthink things if he gave into temptation before he was ready. She respected him enough to make sure and didn’t look down on him or take advantage of him. Trusting another human being with his heart was so foreign to him. But Joey made it so fucking easy.

“I’m sorry, Frank. That’s a silly thing to ask for… I’m ruining the mood, you can’t control how you might feel afterwards..-”

Frank not only needed her to know how badly he wanted her, but he also had to stop himself from telling her that he was in love with her, so he cut her off with another passionate kiss. His hands left her face and traveled down to the hem of her dress, which he swiftly hiked up over her hips and grabbed her ass hard.

“I’ll never regret you, Joe. I can _easily_ promise you that.” Frank stated with conviction. Feeling her already panting against his face filled his heart with so much pride. He couldn’t wait to make her come. “I’m not running out on you again. I wanted you to know me and it feels like maybe you already do.”

“I hope I do.” Joey tried not to moan out her words, but Frank’s hands on her body felt amazing. “Don’t let it go to your head, but you’re kinda awesome. I like knowing you. ”

“I really like knowing you, too, Joe.” Frank hummed in delight and took one hand away from her ass so that he could rub her pussy through her black lace panties. He was pleased to find them soaked already. “I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you in your huge Led Zeppelin t shirt, but I had no idea that you were this awesome. I’m glad we waited, but with the way you make me feel, I can’t believe that we lasted three dates.”

“Three dates?” Joey was confused and scrunched up her face. Math might not have been her best subject in school, but she could, at the very least, count to three.

“They might not have been traditional dates, but we took our time and got to know each other better. That the night on your mother’s porch…” Frank reminded her as his fingertips skirted along the edge of her panties, making her shiver. “Apologizing and confiding in you like that was more meaningful to me than going to see a movie.”

“It really was, wasn’t it.” Joey whispered as she started to unbutton his shirt. “And that night we had drinks out on your deck.” Joey recounted. “I still haven’t told anyone else how scared I am about being a mother. That night was pretty meaningful for me, too. Much better than drinks at a loud crowded bar.”

“We stayed up and talked all night that night. That has to count for at least two dates.” Frank concluded with a dark smirk.

“I couldn’t agree more. So tonight makes four dates. Look at us, huh?” Joey teased with a breathless quality in her voice. “Such overachievers.”

Frank kissed her lips and lost himself in the moment. As their tongues caressed and explored each other’s mouths he pushed one of the straps of her dress down so he could kiss her shoulder and squeeze her breast over her matching black lace bra. Her skin was like silk and he couldn’t wait to feel and taste every single inch of her.

“You’ve got me half naked in your kitchen, Adler.” Joey sounded out of breath as she giggled and tried to finish unbuttoning his last few buttons.

“Half naked isn’t nearly naked enough, Joe.” Frank declared with a sly smile. He grabbed her ass again and pulled her flush against him. He deliberately rubbed his beard across her bare shoulder and held her tight when she threw her head back and let out a deep moan. “You like that?” he asked, but based on the noises she had made, he already knew the answer.  
  
“Uh huh.” Joey moaned as Frank followed the trail his beard had made with large, open mouthed kisses that soothed any beard burn he had caused.

Joey pushed his dress shirt over his shoulders and he tried to shrug it off the rest of the way. While he was busy with his shirt, she directed her attention back to his neck and chest, but stopped in surprise with wide eyes.

“You have tattoos!” she exclaimed in awe. He had a quote scrolled across one side of his chest and after a quick inspection she found two more on his arms. All areas that a tshirt could have easily covered. “You’re full of surprises, Adler. I like you shirtless.”

“Yeah, tales of a misspent youth. Hey that tickles!” He jumped when she brushed her fingers lightly against the Tolle tattoo on his chest and his reaction made her giggle. Making her happy did things to him that were hard for him to describe. He couldn’t remember foreplay involving so much smiling and giggling before. Being with her made him feel at least ten years younger.

“You’re ticklish spot is your boobs!” Joey nearly shouted.”I knew I’d find it!”

“You’re the worst.” Frank growled through his teeth as he grabbed her and swung over his shoulder. He loved hearing her laugh and he knew that she would crack up with his playful antics. “It’s your boobs that I’m interested in.” Frank declared as gave her ass a few quick swats.

She couldn’t stop laughing behind him as he made his way into the living room. But, suddenly, before they could make it to his bedroom, a blinding pain shot through his foot and he could have sworn that he saw stars.

“Ah SHIT!” Frank roared in agony. What the fuck had he just stepped on?

Franks footing faltered and he swung around, forgetting that Joey was still hanging upside behind him and he ended up slamming her head hard against the nearest wall. Her head had made sickening thud when it made contact and Frank’s heart dropped. He silently prayed to every god that he could think of that she would be okay.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch!” Joey chanted as she moaned in pain behind him. “Ah, shit. Ouch, ouch, ouch!”

“Ah fuck. Joey.” Frank quickly slid her off his shoulder and set her down on the ground in a heap and kneeled down beside her. “I’m so sorry.”

Frank tried to search her face to assess if he had caused her any real damage, but between her hands holding her forehead and her long hair covering her face, Frank couldn’t see a damn thing. At least she was still conscience, he told himself.

“Ah shit. Look at me. Come on, baby. Let me see.” he coaxed. “I’m so sorry. Is it bad?”

“Fuck that hurt.” Joey sniffed as she slowly looked up at him. “Are you okay?”

“Are you asking me if I’m okay?” Frank puffed out a laugh and tried to smooth out her hair so that he could see if she bleeding. Luckily, she wasn’t. He rested his hand on the floor and discovered the source of their recent disaster. The living room was littered with Mary’s Lego pieces. “Fuckin’ cats knocked over Mary’s Lego, again. That’s what I stepped on. I’m so sorry.”

“I step on Sam’s all the time. It’s torture.” Joey tried to smile, but the pain from her temple stopped her and she winced.

“The only time that I have wanted to cry as an adult man was because of those damn things.” Frank dryly pointed out as he tucked her hair behind her ear. “ I’m so so sorry. I think you’re going to have a nice bruise, Joe.”

“We’ll match then.” Joey teased with the sweetest smile she could muster. Frank looked so sorry and, for as much as her head hurt, seeing him upset hurt her more than any bump on her head could. “It was an accident, relax. But I did appreciate the whole caveman routine, though.”

Joey tried to stand up, but Frank stopped her. Reaching up, he turned on Mary’s lamp and raised 3 fingers in front of her face.

“How many fingers?” he asked with all seriousness. Head injuries are nothing to mess with and he needed to know if he should take her to the hospital.

“64? Wait no, 48. I’m bad at math, maybe we should ask Mary?” she giggled. “I’m fine, Dr. Adler.”

“What’s your full name? For real.”

“Well most people think that my name is Joey, but that’s just an alias.” she whispered, loudly. “My real name is actually Sailor Moon. But that’s just between us.” Joey added with a straight face.

“Sailor M-. Dammit, Kincade.”

Watching Frank try his best not to smile was so endearing. Joey loved messing with him. He was the sexiest friend that she had ever had.

“See, you already know my name.” she giggled.

“Well it’s nice to see that a potential concussion didn’t affect your sense of humor. What are the other questions a paramedic would ask? Ummm. What year is it and who’s the current president?”

“Ugh. Please don’t make me say it. I’d rather walk on Legos all day.”

“Fair enough.” Frank helped her up and led her to the couch. He wanted to get them both some ice packs and a round of Advil. The night had taken yet another unfortunate and devastating turn.

He felt like such an ass. Banging a woman’s head against a wall was easily the dumbest thing he’d ever done, hands down. But for some reason, Joey had a way about her that lessened the shame and embarrassment he felt. That sense of the two of them being a team was still there and Joey made him feel like they were going through it together instead of placing all the blame on his dumbass shoulders.

Frank was still disappointed, but he planned on looking after her the best that he could. It was the least he could do. The need he had to show her how much he cared about her was still there and going strong. Sure, he'd thought that they would both be naked while he proved it to her, but nursing her back to health would have to do for now.

“Wait,” Joey refused to sit down on the couch, but instead kept his hand in hers and pulled him towards his bedroom. She, obviously, had other ideas.

Frank followed her, but he wasn’t convinced that the night hadn’t been ruined. Joey could sense his hesitation and decided to show him her intentions. Letting go of his hand, she reached under her dress and slowly took her panties off.

Her boldness completely slayed him and he felt his passion for her stirring again just underneath the surface. She licked her lips and looked over her shoulder to see if her attempt at seduction had been successful and found him gazing back at her through his long lashes while he slowly unbuckled his belt.

Communicating without words with that man was one of the sexiest experiences that she had ever had. She could practically feel his engine revving as he slowly undressed behind her. All she wanted to do was to pounce on him and have her way with him but resisted her impulses and opted to finish playing their sexy game.

Joey turned her back to him and faced his bedroom. As soon as she heard his pants drop to the floor, she reached for the hem of her dress and brought it over her head and dropped it on his Lego scattered floor.

They were just steps away from his bedroom door when Joey reached behind her back to unfasten her bra, but felt Frank’s fingers dance down her spine. She stopped breathing as he removed her bra for her and she let it fall to the floor in front of her.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Frank whispered against her bare shoulder.

Joey’s heart was beating so hard in her chest, but she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Frank was such a smartass. She loved that he could infuse joy into intimate moments like this. As she stood there, nervous and naked in his living room, her heart was so full.

Joey slowly turned around and the look on Frank’s face took her breath away. She was not sure if a man had ever looked at her naked body with such a mixture of admiration and dark desire.

He didn’t look half bad either, she thought to herself with a smirk. The small amount of light in the room defined his muscles in such an amazing way. She almost didn’t think that he was real. She licked her lips as she took in the sight of him. He was still very hard and his size and girth were not disappointing in the slightest.

Frank watched her as she unabashedly checked him out and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. She was stunning and her body was easily the sexiest thing he had ever had the opportunity to see in real life. Being gawked at by her was a very flattering feeling, too.

Before they knew it, Frank had closed the distance between their bodies and was kissing her with a hungry passion as he walked her backwards into his room. There was nothing short of an act of god that could separate the two of them now; this was exactly the moment that they had been waiting so long for and they were done waiting.

 


	13. "Pancakes"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey spend the night together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW Warning. Adult sexual content.

Joey slowly awoke to the feeling of something continuously pulling on her hair. It wasn’t painful, just annoying enough to pulled her out of her deep, peaceful sleep.

It was only when she became more conscious of her surroundings that she realized that she wasn’t in her own bed and that she couldn’t move. Frank was beside her with his large arms wrapped around her, holding her head close against his chest. He was fast asleep, so he obviously wasn't what had woken her.

Frank was still with her. Joey let that simple fact sink in before she even tried to figure out what had woken her. She would never admit it to him, but there was a small part of her heart that had feared that they had given into temptation too quickly and it might cause him to freak out again. The mere fact that he was still next to her made her feel so hopeful. Waking up alone would have been devastating.

But her worst fears hadn’t come true. Frank was naked and snoring softly with his fingers buried in her hair and his heavy leg draped over hers. She could now add aggressive cuddler to Frank’s already impressive list of endearing qualities.

Joey didn’t want to wake him. Having their bodies connected centered her in a way that she previously hadn’t known was even possible. She wanted to enjoy their closeness for as long as possible. She had no idea how they were going to hide their relationship from their respective kids now. After one night with him, Joey was officially addicted to Frank Adler.

Joey tried to fall back asleep, but she could feel the bruise on the side of her head and needed some more Advil. She hoped that Frank had been sleeping just as soundly as she had been and that the kick that he had received to his ribs hadn’t bothered him throughout the night. They had both had their fair share of injuries the night before, she mused.

But on the brightside, she felt so well rested. So well rested, in fact, that she had wondered what time it could be. It was still dark, so Joey assumed that it must still be late at night. There was no way that they could have been sleeping wrapped up in each other for very long.

Oddly enough, she found that it was nearly 5am; they had indeed been sleeping like that for the majority of the night. Joey couldn’t remember a man ever cuddling with her for that long while they slept. She always thought that waking up snuggled against a man’s chest only happened in the movies.

Frank was full of surprises. Joey hadn’t thought that he was the cuddling type, but he had her in the most adorable headlock imaginable.

Before she could fully relish the feeling of Frank’s naked body against hers, the annoying hair pulling started again. Joey tried to seek out the source of her discomfort, only to have Frank instinctively hold her tighter and smooth out her hair in his slumber.

Joey smiled and had visions of Frank at Sam’s age and wondered if Frank was using her head the same way that Sam used his stuffed penguin to sleep with.

“Git.” Frank sleepily grumbled as he swatted blindly at something behind her pillow.

It was then that Joey heard a cat jump to the floor and discovered who the culprit had been.

“Damn cat doesn’t give up.” Frank mumbled. “You got a lot of hair.”

“That I do.” Joey pressed her lips together to stop herself from giggling at him. His grumpiness was adorable.

“Trying to protect it,” he yawned above her head and felt her trying to suppress her laugher. He loved being this close to her and kissed the top of her head. “Bob’s been trying to cockblock me all night.”

“Well...not _alllll_ night.” Joey sung out. “I do recall you getting lucky at some point.”

“At a few points.” Frank corrected her and gave another kiss to the top of her head.

Frank was still half asleep, but when he felt her smile against his chest, he wasn’t sure if he was getting turned on again or if his morning wood had come a little earlier than usual.

Either way, having Joey spend the night in his bed was an experience that he wished he could have every night. Cuddling had never been his style before her, but it had come so naturally that night. He wasn’t animal. In the past, he had begrudgingly put in the time and wait for whoever was sharing his bed to pass out then he’d roll over to his corner of the bed to get some proper sleep.

Sure, holding Joey against him like that had started out as a way to keep Bob from pulling her hair, but the longer Frank had held her, the more peace he'd felt and he hadn't wanted to let her go. Knowing that she was safe in his arms had given him one of the best sleeps he’d had in years. He was only just discovering the many ways that the two of them fit together.

Joey wrapped her arm around Frank’s bare waist and placed a kiss on his chest for protecting her. Or, at least, for protecting her hair from becoming Bob’s new cat bed. As Frank had explained his protective headlock, she found it hilarious that she had been too tired to notice her persistent furry visitor. Apparently, Frank had been swatting the cat away on and off all night.

She had not been expecting to spend the night at Frank’s place and hadn't thought to bring an overnight bag or any supplies with her. A hair tie would have come in handy. She was sure that she was going to look downright scary when she eventually had to do her walk of shame back to her mother’s house. But after their night together, she figured she could deal with it.

“How’s your back?” Frank asked above her head, breaking their silence. Joey could practically hear the big cheeky smile in his voice.

“My back is fine, smartass.” Joey giggled.

Frank chuckled back as he hugged her closer to him. He could read her mind and knew that they were both reliving the funny memory in their heads.

Earlier that night, when they had finally made it into his bedroom and he'd gotten her in his bed, they might have both been a little bit overzealous.

Once they'd put the condom on and had actually started making love, Frank had found himself getting too carried away. Joey had been better than he could have imagined and he hadn't been sure how long he would last and then he had, quite literally, ended up fucking her right off the edge of the bed.

Between banging her head off the wall and landing right on top of her, Frank had been sure that she was going to get a restraining order against him before the night was through.

But to his delight Joey had been undeterred and had encouraged him, through her ouches and giggles, to continue while they had still been on the floor. She had been a trooper and he'd kept fucking her like she asked, but he couldn’t help but giggle along with her and had kept asking her if she was really okay.

Joey, unfortunately, had experienced Frank’s concern for her earlier and had nodded her head and had quickly answered. “Josephine Juliet Kincade, 2017, an orange reality star, and - _ohhhh fuck, Frank…please don’t stop!_ ”

Frank had never laughed so much during sex before. Joey was the sexiest, most adorable person that he had ever touched in his life and the joy that she brought him was indescribable. Their first time had been more than Frank had any right to hope for.

In fact, Frank couldn’t remember having ever been so present with a woman before Joey. It had taken one night with her to realize that he had been missing out by having such one sided experiences with the opposite sex.

In the past, he would have gone through the motions and turned a part of himself off while he'd focused solely on the pleasure he was feeling and fulfilling his need. When it came to satisfying women, his batting average had been fairly high, but if he had ever been unsuccessful in making his partner come, he hadn’t lost any sleep over it.

It was not that way with Joey. In fact, it was the completely opposite. Frank hadn’t shied away from looking deep into her eyes and had practically begged her to tell him what she liked. He hadn't been looking to escape his reality when he was with her and he had demanded to know how he could satisfy her. Their first time had started off fast and frantic, but soon Frank’s focus had been on making the experience as good for her as it was for him.

When Frank was open and sincere, there was nothing that Joey wouldn’t do for him. Even communicate her deepest and sexual desires. She had put aside any potential embarrassment and had, unabashedly, showed him how to make her come.

Needless to say, he had been quite successful. Besides, Joey knew her body well and was halfway there before Frank had asked, so it hadn’t been a difficult task. But with extra insight that she'd given him, Frank had managed to make her come so hard that her eyesight had gone blurry and she was sure that she had made sounds that would’ve made a pornstar blush. Waiting to break her three month dry spell with Frank had been well worth the wait.

But then, after he'd placed a kiss on each of her closed eyes and had given her a moment to catch her breath, Frank had picked her up off the floor and had sat down on the bed with her in his lap. Miraculously, he hadn’t come yet and he hadn't been nearly done with her.

Joey had still felt glowly inside as she'd softly kissed him and had wrapped her legs around his waist. That time, they had gone slower. Having her look him in the eye as she had ridden him was as intimate it got for Frank. He had started to feel stupid that he hadn’t realized that sex had the potential to be exponentially better when you were with the right person.

Joey had tried not to cry when Frank had run his fingers through her hair and had kissed her bruised temple over and over again as if he had been trying to love it away. The gesture had her falling deeper in love with him, but she had to keep it to herself. It was too soon to be falling so hard, but try telling her heart that.

“Where did you come from, Frank?” she had breathlessly whispered as she'd rolled her hips and ridden him a little faster. She had felt her release building again and he'd known it, too.

Frank had felt his heart expanding as he'd looked into her eyes. If he hadn't known any better, he would have been sure that there had been nothing but love glowing back at him from Joey’s gorgeous blue eyes. It had been beautiful and had made him want to be worthy of her.

He'd known that he belonged to her, heart and soul, but he wasn’t going to say the words after only knowing her a couple of weeks. But on some level, they'd both understood that there was no turning back for them.

“Boston.” he had whispered back with a straight face and a twinkle in his eye before he had flipped her over onto her back and had smoothed her hair away from her face.

Frank had hovered over her and had peppered slow kisses along her cheeks and down her neck. He'd hoped that he would be able to show her how much she meant to him without having to say anything out loud. But those eyes of hers had made it so difficult for him to keep his emotions in check. Frank had lost himself in them as he'd made love to her.

It hadn't been long after that when he'd reached his climax, after having made her come for a second time. He had been proud of himself for holding out as long as he had. He'd confessed this to Joey, and then, after sharing a giggle fit and a bag of chips, they'd made love one more time and had fallen asleep exhausted and fulfilled.

Well, correction. That second time was purely fucking, but that had seemed to be more Joey’s style. Frank was almost relieved that every time with her didn’t have to be such an emotionally taxing experience. Joey appeared to enjoy sex just as much as he did, maybe even more so. Frank couldn’t believe his luck, and just tried to keep up with her. The two of them felt drunk on each other and it was hot as hell.

Joey had gotten used to Frank’s adorable, cat-protecting headlock and had almost fallen back asleep when she felt Bob jump back unto her side of the bed. The cat was relentless and Frank finally let her go with a frustrated groan and sat up on the bed.

“Git.” he ordered through his teeth. “She’s mine, leave her the hell alone. Sorry, Joe. He’s usually not this clingy. I should have closed the door.”

“Shhh. It’s okay. Go back to sleep, grumpy.” Joey turned over on her side and stroked Bob’s head for a few moments before the cat curled up into a ball near the top of her head and finally left them alone. She actually liked Bob a lot and didn’t want to banish him to the living room when he was obviously just seeking some affection.

“Looks like you made a new friend,” Frank stated as he wrapped his arm around her and spooned her.

But as Frank pulled her against him, she could feel his impressive erection pressing against her butt and figured that he wasn’t referring to Bob the cat.

“It sure feels like it.” Joey purred as she wiggled her ass suggestively against him. “I really like this friend. Is he looking for another playdate or is he all tuckered out?”

Frank’s hand ran up her side and found its way to her bare breast and, as soon as she flipped her hair out of the way, his lips sealed onto the side of her neck and she had her answer.

“Your new friend can’t seem to get enough of you.” Frank growled against her neck and she rolled her hips against him and encouraged him not to stop. “Damn it, Joe. I really like having you in my bed.”

All Joey could do was moan softly as Frank's hands worked their magic all over her body; effectively turning her on and making her hungry for him on a primal level. He knew her body so well already and she was wet and aching for him in a matter of moments.

Even though her mind had gone fuzzy, she still had the presence of mind to reach for the nightstand to grab another condom. She only hoped that he still had some left.

“Not yet.” Frank insisted as he turned her over onto her back and crawled on top of her.

Joey let him have his way and arched her back into him as his lips worshipped each of her breasts and then every single inch of her body as he traveled lower. When he reached her tummy, he dragged his tongue along her skin with a delighted hum and knelt down between her legs.

Once he had reached his destination, he opened her legs and spread them wide. Joey was sure that her heart was going to burst free from her chest as she watched him admire her in that vulnerable state.

Frank sighed at her beauty and licked his lips. He ran his hands along the inside of her thighs as he looked her in the eye and seemingly challenged her to beg him for what he had planned next.

She loved that dark twinkle in his eye and she started to writhe her hips against the mattress in anticipation. He was teasing her and taking his time because he knew that it would drive her crazy.

That was the Frank that she remembered from the second time they had made love after their snack break. He had been such a perfect mix of sweetness and dominance. If their first time had been intensely romantic then their second time had just been down right fun and dirty.

Once they had finally acted on their passion and had gotten their blind lust and overwhelming affection for each other out of the way, they had been free to fully enjoy each other and take their time. Joey had found that Frank was kinky and playful, but also had a dark side to him that she was drawn to like a moth to a flame, only with a much more favorable outcome.

Frank on the other hand, had felt like he'd just won the lottery. Joey had been down for just about anything and he'd known that he was going to enjoy keeping up with her insatiable appetite. Getting to know each other without their clothes on had completely blown Frank’s mind in so many ways.

He had always been under the assumption that if he commited to one woman that he would have to either settle for a deep, romantic, intellectual connection or a smoking hot, fuck buddy. Turned out, with Joey, he had the very best of both worlds.

He had always felt their connection when they were together or when they had touched or kissed, but Frank hadn’t been prepared to feel the full force of their connection when they finally slept together.

Needless to say, Frank had been completely floored by her; in more ways than one, unfortunately. He still hoped that he hadn’t hurt her by falling on top of her when they fell off the bed.

Frank looked into her eyes and raised an eyebrow, but tried not to smirk when she challenged him back with a sexy, raised eyebrow of her own. Maybe she enjoyed him asking as much as he enjoyed hearing the answer and was therefore trying to goad him into dirty talk. Figuring her out was a lot of fun.

Demanding to know how to make her come had originally come from desperation, but since hearing her answer him, Frank now asked her for fun. He loved how her voice took on a life of its own. Hearing her moan out the words “yes" or "please” had quickly become the sexiest thing that he had ever heard. He had not expected to discover a new kink, but he'd gone with it.

Turns out that communicating openly with your partner could open doors that Frank hadn’t even known existed. He was getting to keyed up and had to make her tell him that she wanted him again.

“I promised you pancakes for breakfast...but I think I’d rather have you.” Frank darkly hummed. “You look absolutely mouthwatering. Do you want it, baby? Tell me you want it.”

“Pancakes? Yuck.” Joey was confused and Frank’s face fell in disappointment. Those were not the words that he'd expected to hear. “Why pancakes? When did you promise me that? I hate pancakes.”

“What?” Frank sat up on his knees and took his cock in his hand and slowly gave it a few small strokes. “We talked about it last night, at length actually. I even went out to the kitchen and checked and, for some strange reason, I have all of the ingredients.... _shit!_ I knew you were talking in your sleep!” Frank barked out a loud laugh as he continued to stroke himself. “I had a whole damn conversation with you, woman.”

“I do not talk in my sleep!” Joey lied as she sat up and propped herself up on her elbows. Alice had made fun of her years ago for her talkative nocturnal habits, but that had been a lifetime ago. Joey got distracted as she watched Frank slowly pleasure himself as he smiled down at her and had almost forgotten what they'd been talking about; it was so hot. “What did I say?”

Frank shook his head and couldn’t stop smiling at her. She was absolutely stunning in her nakedness and wild, bed head hair. She couldn’t take those beautiful blue eyes away from his cock and he found her gawking adorable for some reason. She couldn’t hide how much she wanted him even if she wanted to.

The sun was starting to rise and he was hoping to rock her world one more time before getting some more sleep, but playing around with her was just too irresistible. Sex with Joey was fun, but hanging out with her was pretty awesome, too.

“The cat kept waking you up, remember?” Frank explained with laughter in his voice as he crawled back up her body and rubbed his nose against hers. “You were pretty out of it and mumbled something about pancakes, so I told you that I’d try and make you some in the morning without burning them or the house down. But I should have known that something was up when you told me something about the roadmap being in the golf bag.”

“Oh my GOD!” Joey barked out a loud laugh and wrapped her arms around his neck. If another man had caught her talking in her sleep, she would have been mortified, but because it was Frank, she wasn’t that embarrassed. “Oh and to answer your question…” Joey winked and whispered with a huge smile on her face, “I want it. I really want it, baby.”

Frank kissed her lips and made his way back down to the apex of her thighs with a smile on his face, as well. He wasn’t interested in teasing her anymore. All he wanted was to taste her and give her back a small amount of the pleasure that she had given him.

It didn’t take long before his oral talents had her arching her back off the bed, yet again. She ran her fingers through his hair as he enthusiastically ate her.

“ _Damn, Frank_ …” Joey moaned. He knew exactly what he was doing and she was in awe of his skill.

“That’s it.” Frank praised against her skin. “I wanna hear you.”

Joey stopped trying to control her panting moans and surrendered to the pleasure that Frank was encouraging inside her. It wasn’t long before she felt the warm waves of her climax flow over her. But Frank didn’t stop.

She tried to catch her breath and let him know that she had just come and that he could stop, but he kept her legs pried apart and only took his mouth away from her only to quickly utter the words “more” and “again” before he went back to his task.

She was so sensitive, at that point, that it took mere moments for her to fall apart again into a million pieces. When Frank finally sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, he looked so proud of himself.

Poor Joey felt like a peaceful puddle of kittens. Completely satisfied, she peered up at him through her heavy eyelids and watched him find another condom and roll in onto his generous length.

Frank couldn’t get enough of her. For as horny and keyed up as he was, he started slow and made love to her gently and found himself lost in her eyes again. It was so intimate; it as if the two of them became one person when connected like that. Their bodies moved in unison and it was almost too much. Frank had to break their spell and look away when it started to feel like he could cry.

Joey could sense his panic and wanted to keep him there with her in the moment, so she held his face and kissed his lips as he continued to make love to her slowly. She could still taste her tarte sweetness clinging to him and moaned his name into his mouth. Hearing her led to him picking up the pace and developing a punishing rhythm that practically fucked her hard into the mattress.

Her efforts had been successful; she had managed to bring him back to her. He continued to fuck her hard and enjoyed all of the noises that she made and somehow found the strength to bring his eyes back to hers once again.

The vulnerability that Joey found written all over Frank’s face took her breath away and made her instantly protective of him. Her eyes filled with tears and she wished that he understood that she would never hurt him and would do anything to safeguard his heart.

Frank could tell that her emotions were running just as high as his were, although, he had done a much better job of hiding his tears than she had. He just had to make her smile again before he came, making her cry wasn’t his intention.

He knew just what to do as he gave her a charmingly dark smirk and quickly pinned her arms above her head. Hearing her squeak and giggle meant everything to him.

“You are so fucking beautiful, Joe.” Frank praised against her cheek before he kissed her bruised temple like he had earlier. “You feel so good. You’re so wet. You like this?…”

Joey’s neck and shoulders were scattered with marks that his beard had previously left on her skin and there was as a good chance that he had left a decent sized hickey on the side of her neck. But, to him, she was absolute perfection.

“Yes. Yes, Frank, don’t stop… _so_ good. I’m _so_ close.” she panted.

“Come for me, Joe.” Frank pleaded. He was close, as well, and was trying to hold off for as long as he could. “Come for me, now. Please, Joey.”

Joey wrapped her legs around his waist and the position allowed for him to go even deeper. When she suddenly came, Frank wanted to cheer as if he had won the Super Bowl because he couldn’t hold off any longer and followed her only moments later.

He rolled off of her and, after discarding the condom, each of them let out contented sighs in unison. The room was silent apart from the sounds of them catching their breaths until they heard Bob meow at them from the edge of the bed.

Then the sounds of the two of them giggling up at the ceiling filled the room until Frank drifted off to sleep.  
\--------------------------

Frank had slept like a rock and it was 8:15 when he finally rolled over and reached for Joey, only to find a cold, empty space beside him.

He instantly missed her and felt his heart ache at her absence. He rubbed his eyes and cursed himself for getting so attached to her. They couldn’t have sleepovers like last night every day. He would have to get used to her not being around. But he had to admit, in a different time and place, he would kill for the opportunity to wake up with her every morning.  
But there he was overthinking again and moving five steps ahead. Old habits die hard.

He grabbed her pillow and hugged it close, loving that it smelled like her. He could hear her somewhere in the house and wondered what she was up to, but he was still too tired and lazy to pry himself out of bed. Satisfying that woman had taken a lot out of him. His ribs, where Robert had kicked him were still sore, but, in the end, finally making love to Joey had been a very rewarding task.

Joey had no idea that he was awake when she tiptoed back into his bedroom, barefoot and pantless, with the three cats following behind her. Frank peered up at her through his tired eyes and thought that she looked adorable with a high ponytail and wearing one of his old, black, Triumph t-shirts and her black lace panties. Frank could credit her new hairstyle to one of Mary’s colourful hair ties he spotted in her hair. He smiled into her pillow as he watched her move around and tidy up his room.

Seeing her in his clothes had made it official. He was such a goner. All he could think to himself, as he spied on her, was, _“There’s my girl.”_

Frank laid in his bed and discovered that he really enjoyed watching her when she thought that she was alone. Every movement felt like a dance. It wasn’t that she was overly graceful, she just had a beauty that always seemed to be radiating from her and it translated and flowed into how her body moved. Frank could instinctually tell that she was happy and, in turn, the knowledge made him happy as well.

Joey kept picking up stuff from his floor and Frank didn’t like the idea of her doing his housework for him. Just as he was about to speak up and try and get her to come back to bed, he noticed that she wasn’t cleaning up just to be nice. She was actually making space to stretch.

She still didn’t know that he was watching her and he smirked to himself, remembering that she had told him that she used to be a yoga instructor, many moons ago. Apparently, she hadn’t given up the practice entirely and appeared to really know what she was doing. Even though she had her back to him, that was definitely a show that Frank he knew he’d enjoy.

Frank bit his lip as he watched how the fabric of her little lace panties stretched across her ass as she did pose after pose. He knew nothing about yoga, but he was impressed with her balance and the patience she showed to his annoying, attention seeking cats. Watching her was getting him hard again and he started to wonder if he had it in him for another round or if he needed to eat something first.

“I can practically hear your boner growing from here, Alder.” Joey giggled.

“Ha! Busted. Come back to bed. I’ll give you a workout.”

Frank’s voice was sexy and as smooth as velvet. So much so that Joey almost considered obliging, but her muscles were sore and achy from their night (and early morning) together and she feared that, if she indulged one last time, she might not be able to walk afterwards.

“Again? Gosh, you’re like a really sexy Energizer Bunny,” Joey dismissed him with laughter in her voice as she stood in an advanced dancer pose on one leg with the other stretched out behind her. Frank held his breath as she bent backwards and almost brought her foot to the back of her head. “You kept your word, Adler. You were definitely my slut. I’m achy everywhere after your workout. Don’t you need food?”

“You read my mind, I’m starving. How’s your head, Kincade?” Frank asked as he licked his lips and watched her transition from her pose and fantasized about having those long legs of hers wrapped around his waist again.

“I’m good. I saw your bruise this morning so I left some Advil and water for you next to your bed and I put a pot of coffee on, too. I’ll get cha some in a sec.”

“Thanks.” Being looked after was a nice feeling. Frank sat up slowly and tried not to groan when his ribs stopped him from moving as quickly as he would have liked. He took the pills sitting his nightstand and checked out his ribs. A half decent purple bruise had formed and he made a mental note not to let Mary jump on him for awhile. “How long have you been up?”

“Since 6, maybe. I couldn’t go back to sleep and I was waiting for you to wake up and play with me. By the way, I also fed the cats and found a bunch of their ping pong balls under the couch. I think I’m their new hero.”

“Well, after last night, you’re my new hero.” Frank flirted. “Come ‘er, I’ll play with you. Food is overrated anyway...you taste a lot better.” he added with a dark hum.

“That’s not all.” Joey smirked and ignored him as she did her sun salutations while Bob and Fred tried to rub themselves up against her. “I also picked up all the Legos and I mixed you up some pancake batter. It’s in the fridge, I didn’t know when your grumpy butt would wake up, but they take no time to fix up.”

“Oh, great.” Frank moaned loudly when it suddenly hit him. The pep in her step, the yoga, the cooking and the chores. All of the early morning activity could only mean one thing and he wouldn’t stand for it. “You’re a morning person! I knew you couldn’t be perfect. Come back to bed, Joe, seriously. I refuse to function before 10am if I don’t have to.”

“You’re the worst.” Joey laughed. She decided to do a very perfectly positioned downward facing dog to mess with him and incentivize him to get out of bed. “Wake up and play with me.” She giggled as she looked up at him from between her legs and wiggled her butt in his direction.

Frank took the bait when he saw her perfect, barely covered, ass high up in the air playfully beckoning him. He couldn’t wait to test out her flexibility and was about to go to her when she found something under his bed and quickly grabbed it before standing up.

“Discourse on Method? A little light reading, Alder?” Joey teased with a curious raised eyebrow. “Is this Mary’s?”

“Naw, it’s mine. _‘I think therefore I am.’_ ”

“Actually, I think it’s _‘I think therefore I exist’_ ” Joey corrected him as she flipped through the book. “…but it’s the same thing. Descartes was the king of doubting everything, wasn’t he? Sounds like a cute boat mechanic I know.”

“Maybe.” Frank blushed and smiled the cutest shy smile that Joey had ever seen. “You’ve read it?”

“Not exactly, I just sorta know of it. I was half interested in philosophy back in school, but I checked out on Descartes after I heard he tortured his dog.”

“You’re fuckin’ with me. He didn’t do that.”

“He did. The fucker didn’t think that animals had souls or could feel pain and he tried to prove his theory with his wife's dog.” Joey scoffed and tossed his book on his bed. “I’m ready to throw down if someone doesn’t agree that Gus is the cutest dog that ever existed, I’m amazed that his wife put up with that shit. Google it.”

Joey left to pour him a cup of coffee and Frank pulled out his phone and did just that. Sure enough, Joey was right and he thought he was going to be sick.

“Well, A+ Ms. Kincade.”

“Told ya. Descartes was brilliant, though, in other areas. In _a lot_ of different areas, from what I remember. People are never just one thing.”

“No. No they aren’t.” Frank agreed. “I think you would have been my star student and definitely the hottest and the most flexible.”

“Student?” Joey puffed out a laugh and kissed Frank’s bruised cheek as she handed him his coffee. He then held his coffee mug out of the way as she left another cute kiss on his bruised ribs.

“Umm.” Frank ran his hand down his face and decided to just spit it out and hopefully avoid too many uncomfortable questions. “Yeah, it’s never come up, but, I used to teach back in the day.”

“You did not.” She laughed. That was absurd and she didn’t believe him for a second. He had to be messing with her.

Frank just smiled up at her from the bed and sipped his coffee until Joey started to understand that he was serious.

“What? Teach? As in a teacher? Like a qualified teacher? Really? In like a school? What did you teach? What grade did you teach? You can barely stand kids.”

“Ha! That’s very true. Mary and Sam are my very rare exceptions.” Frank smirked at the confused scrunched up face that Joey was making as she let his news sink in and tried to make sense of it. “It was a lifetime ago, but I was a philosophy professor at the University of Boston.”

Joey mouth hung open in shock and Frank started to laugh at her. Taking advantage of the situation, he tugged on her hand and pulled onto the bed with him.

“What are you thinking, Joe?” Frank asked as he set his coffee on the nightstand and pulled her back against his chest. He could tell that his news had sent her reeling and he wanted to comfort her. “Tell me what’s going on in the beautiful head of yours.”

“I’m thinking that last night I went to bed with a hot boat mechanic and this morning I woke up with a hot philosophy professor.” she huffed.

“Ex professor. I quit.”

“Still. I can’t imagine you in lecture hall wearing a twill blazer with those elbow patch thingys. Seeing you in a suit last night was trippy enough.”

“Good thing I wore it just for you” Frank teased with a layer of fake disappointment. “I thought I looked pretty good.”

“You did. Obviously the suit didn’t hurt your chances now, did it, Adler.” Joey sassed back and gasped when his hand slipped inside the front of her panties. “You make everything look hot, even that terrible Hawaiian shirt.” She sighed to herself as she leaned back against him and felt his erection already hard behind her. She rolled her neck to the side and enjoyed the sensations that his fingers were eliciting from her. Her addiction to him was still alive and well.

“Come back to bed, Joey.” Frank whispered in her ear. His voice was rich with a dark playful hunger. “I can’t get enough of you. I need to be inside you.” The more he spoke, the more she squirmed against him and he knew that he was turning her on. “I don’t want our night to be over yet. I want to make you come again.”

“But I want my hot boat mechanic back!” Joey giggled and pouted at the same time, but moaned when Frank started to leave wet kisses along the side of her neck the way that she liked. “What if you start grading me or something?”

“You’ve already got an A+, baby.” Frank smirked. “In fact, you’ve already taught me a few things,” he added with a chuckle.

“I didn’t realize that we came from such different worlds…”

“Our different worlds lead us here...to my bed...”

“It just feels like a bait and switch.” Joey whined. “I had no idea…I mean, I always thought you were smart and insightful...but… _oh my_.” Frank’s skillful fingers were making Joey’s mind go fuzzy and she couldn’t finish her thought.

“I’m still the same guy, Joe.” Frank whispered against the side of her neck before he kissed her temple. “I just fix boats now.”

Joey knew that there was more to this story, but was not in the proper frame of mind to ask the right questions. She wanted to know why he quit and why he wanted to be a professor in the first place. Joey wanted to know everything about the man that she had fallen in love with. But, at the moment, all she could focus on was the way that he was making her body feel.

“I know....” Joey whispered and spread her legs further apart to give him more room to pleasure her. “I really don’t care what kind of job you had before...but you’re obviously very _very_ talented with your hands.”

Frank reached for the hem of his stolen t shirt and pulled it over her head and Joey reached over to his nightstand and found his last condom.

If they kept up at this pace, he would have stock up.

\-----------------------

“I should be getting back to my mom’s. Sam should already be up by now.” Joey hummed as she wrapped her arms around Frank’s waist and peeked around him to ensure that he wasn’t letting his pancakes burn.

Under Joey’s careful tutelage, Frank was actually becoming a half decent pancake maker and he was looking forward to impressing Mary with his new found skill.

“What you’re not staying for breakfast?” Frank happily announced with a raised eyebrow and laughed when she made a sour yucky face. “I know, I know. I’m just teasing. You’re not the biggest fan of pancakes.

“You’d hate pancakes too if you ever tasted proper French crepes.”

“More for me then. I’m starving. My new girlfriend is extremely demanding in bed. I need the extra calories” he teased and barked out a loud laughed when she playfully growled and squeezed his waist harder. “I’m just amazed that this wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I don’t ever cook. Thanks for showing me, but it sucks that you’re not eating anything.”

“That’s okay, I’ll grab something at my mom’s. You’re a natural, Adler.” Joey praised. They couldn’t have been more happily domestic and Joey loved it more than she thought she would. “If you really wanna make me breakfast, maybe I’ll teach ya how to whip up an omelette or something next time. That’s more my jam.”

When Frank’s last pancake was finished, he placed it on his little stack with pride. He loved that she had said ‘next time.’ He turned around in Joey’s arms and wrapped his arms around her neck with his spatula still in his hand. He knew they had to say goodbye at some point, but he wasn’t looking forward to it.

“When can I see you again, Kincade?” Frank asked, confident that she wanted to see him just as badly as he wanted to see her.

“Soon, I hope.” Joey beamed. “Ed Hamilton’s funeral is this week, so work is going to be nuts and I’m also moving into the house later this week, too, and Alice and are going to paint and spruce the place up before moving day. Things are kinda busy.”

“I was thinking a lot sooner than that.” Frank smiled a giant toothy smile. “I have to work this Sunday, but Mary wants to take Sam to beach. You free later today?”

“Sure. Sam would love that. I have to take Gus for a swim anyway.” Joey gazed up at him in and was in awe. He was just too handsome for words. Seeing him happy pulled on her heartstrings and the idea that she had played a part of putting that big smile on his face had her matching his goofy grin. “This was good, wasn’t it? It was for me, anyway. You know you can tell me...if you...do you have any regrets?”

“Only that I didn’t buy more condoms.” Frank chuckled and pretended to be hurt when she playfully smacked him. “No regrets, Joe.” He sung out as he pulled her into a big hug.

Frank looked over her head and checked the time. Mary would be back in an hour. That gave him enough time to eat his delicious pancakes and try to wipe the goofy smile off his face.

After turning down his offer for her to wear his clothes home, Joey opted to put her black dress back on. It was only a short walk back to her mother’s house, but if she were going to be spotted, she’d rather be spotted slightly overdressed for a Saturday morning than wearing Frank’s clothes.

Regardless of what she wore, they both agreed that it would be obvious that she was doing the walk of shame. Frank apologized and felt bad for her and had to stop himself from offering her a drawer in his dresser to store a change of her clothes. He realized how an gesture like that could be perceived and tried to play it somewhat cool.

Joey kissed him maybe three times before she got to the door and confessed through her giggles that she didn’t want their date to end. He laughed at her only to pull her back to him for one last kiss goodbye. Being silly with her came so easily; he couldn’t help himself.

Maybe he was evolving. He was not only happy, but was actually leaning into it and letting himself be happy. Frank watched her walk down his path from his kitchen window and wondered to himself the same question that Joey had asked him: _Where in the hell did you come from, Joey Kincade?_

She looked back and smiled her gorgeous sweet smile at him and he was so grateful that, out of all of the people in the world, they had managed to find each other. Because, to be honest, Frank was having a hard time remembering what his life looked like before her.


	14. "Breathe"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey spend the weekend together and end up bonding with each other’s kids.

True to his word, Joey didn’t have to jump out of any windows that Saturday morning when she left Frank’s house, but she still wanted to make a quick a stealthy exit. Frank had been raising Mary for a lot longer than she had been raising Sam so she trusted his parental instincts and wanted to do her best not to be seen as she left his house.

Unfortunately, her best efforts were not good enough. Joey’s steady pace had been interrupted when she heard Mary’s happy voice singing out, “GoooOOD Morning, Joey!” from a few houses away.

Joey stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned around, sucking in her bottom lip. Mary was outside with Roberta blowing bubbles and had a wonderful unobstructed view of her exiting Frank’s house. She had been caught.

Normally, seeing Mary put a huge smile of Joey’s face, but that morning was not one of those times. Joey gave Roberta a look that shouted, _“Come on! You had ONE job.”_ and was only met with a cold challenging stare from her mother’s friend.

Roberta was obviously not Joey’s biggest fan, but it was not the time nor the place to figure out what her problem was. But it stung that her mother’s best friend was cross with her for some reason.

Before Joey knew it, Mary had closed the distance between them and was complimenting her on her dress and asked if she and Sam wanted to go to the beach with her and Frank later that afternoon.

Joey would have sold her soul to have gotten out of that situation or, at the very least, to have had a different change of clothes on. She couldn’t believe that she was standing there wearing her tall “fuck me heels” in front of Mary, before lunch no less.

Joey smiled and agreed to the beach date and tried to play it cool, but when Mary smirked and commented that she may have to get changed first, Joey just wanted to die.

 _Just breathe,_ Joey told herself as she walked across the street. _Just breathe._

\----------------------

Later that afternoon, Frank was already set up at their usual spot on the beach and had been trying to read his book while Mary played with Fred at his feet. But after he found himself reading the same paragraph three times, he gave up and fished his phone out of his pocket to see if he had missed a text from Joey.

He knew that he should relax, but Joey and Sam should have been there by then. He hoped that there hadn’t been some kind of mix up and that they hadn’t gone to a different beach. He was trying to silence the voices in his head that were trying to convince him that last night hadn't been what he'd thought it had. He tried to remind himself that, a few hours ago, he’d been closer to Joey than he’d been with another human being in a long time. There was no way that she would run for the hills and stand him up. He just had to breathe and trust that what they had was real and could survive longer than their one night together.

Mary was getting impatient, as well, and shot him an expectant look when he put his phone away.

“They should be here soon, don’t wor-” Frank hadn’t gotten a chance to calm Mary’s nerves, because she bounced up and started running in the opposite direction chanting, “Joey! Joey!” and “Hi Sam!” before he could finish.

It helped to see how excited Mary was to see them. Frank was just as excited, for that matter, but tried to play it cool. He stood up from his lawn chair and stuffed his hands in his pockets, but nearly doubled over laughing at Joey once his eyes finally landed on her.

Joey was wearing a pair of faded distressed overall shorts over a blue two piece bathing suit and a comically large straw sunhat. Judging by the way that she was walking, Frank was sure it was obstructing her vision. He could barely make out her face behind the wide brim.

She was also lugging around a huge bag that she seemed to be struggling with so Frank made his away over to her and they watched the two kids take off to play with Gus following close behind them.

“Are you planning on camping out or something?” Frank teased and pretended to have to drag the bag in the sand because it was too heavy for him.

“Ha ha, smartass. My light packing days are over, you never know what that little monkey is going to need.” Joey laughed referring to Sam. “I have food, drinks, two changes of clothes, a blanket, umbrella, sunscreen, first aid supplies, and enough beach toys to keep an entire kindergarten class entertained! Not to mention all of Gus’s stuff. That pup is spoiled rotten, you should see all of the new toys and gear that Sam and I bought for him the other day.”

“You’re adorable you know that.” Frank slung her huge beach bag over his shoulder and fought the urge to kiss her. Mary and Sam could see them, after all. “Just keep in mind how many times you actually use any of this stuff. You’ll end up whittling it down to the essentials eventually. I mean all Mary and I bring now is her bucket and my lawnchair.”

“Sunscreen? Water?”

“She sprays herself down before we leave; sometimes we bring a cooler. Easy peasy.”

 _“Riiight.”_ Joey bumped him with her shoulder and they made their way back to his lawn chair.

All Joey wanted to do was to run her fingers through his hair and bury her face in his chest. She desperately wanted to feel as safe and centered as she had felt that morning when she'd woken up in his arms. She reminded herself that she had just had more sex in the past 24 hours then she had had in the past four months and chastised herself for not being able to control her urges. But damn, Frank always looked so good.

Frank sat back down in his lawn chair and Joey set up her blanket and laid down on her stomach beside his chair and they watched the two kids play in a comfortable silence.

The two kids ran along the beach with Gus and stopped to pick up seashells and laughed when the dog tried to eat them. It was nice and peaceful. They were the only ones on the beach and hearing the waves mix with the sounds of Mary and Sam’s laughter gave Joey a happy peace that reinforced all of her decisions to keep Sam and move home. Seeing him so deliriously happy made her heart so full that she wanted to take a mental picture of all of it.

“He grew up in Austin. He’s not used to the ocean.” Joey explained as they watched Sam gleefully spread his arms wide towards the water and practically shake with happiness.

“Apparently he likes it.” Frank smiled.

Joey adjusted her big hat so that she could peer up at Frank and loved that he looked so happy watching Sam’s excitement. It felt like they were sharing the moment together and she just had to touch him; she ran her hand up inside the hem of Frank’s jeans and ran her fingers up his leg. She had missed touching him and figured that she could get away with such an innocent touch.

“Damn, Joe.” Frank hummed as he looked out onto the water. “This is going to be a problem.”

“I’m sorry.” Joey apologized and took her hand away from his leg. “My bad, we had a deal.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Frank chuckled as he stood up and left his book on the seat of his chair.

He sat down beside her on the blanket and ran his hand up the back of her leg and rested the palm of his hand under the hem of her overall shorts.

“You see, if you just touching my leg gets me this turned on, you can see how we’d have a problem on our hands.” Frank squeezed the back on her thigh and Joey could feel herself getting wet.

“I kinda like what your hand is up to right now, Professor Alder.”

“Don’t call me that.” Frank snapped and quickly took his hand away from her leg. “I mean it, okay. No more professor shit.”

“Okay.” Joey turned over on her side and knew that she had inadvertently crossed a line and didn’t like the cold distant look in his eye as he stared out onto the water. “Hey, I’m sorry. I’m still trying to make sense of the whole thing. I’m not sure if I’ve ever dating a guy that was smarter than I was.” Joey giggled.

“Trust me, in a lot of ways you’re much smarter than I am.” Frank smirked but he still didn’t looking at her. “I’m kinda used to it though, I mean, look at Mary. It took me a long time to admit it, but the girl is a genius. An honest to goodness math prodigy. But it doesn’t change how I feel about her. I just don’t want talk about teaching, at least not here.”

“Okay. I didn’t mean to push.”

“I know you didn’t.” Frank sighed. “I’m not used to being so open. I like it, but it takes some getting used to.”

“You need some sunscreen.” Joey announced. She was going to do her best to change the subject and get her playful Frank back. She took off her hat and rummaged through her huge beach bag while Frank tried to protest.

“Naw, Joe. I’m fine.”

“You might have been fine under your little umbrella, but if you’re gunna hang out with me down here then you need some sunblock, you’re not even wearing a hat.”

Frank was about to get up to sit back up in his chair, but Joey wasn’t taking no for an answer and quickly pounced on him.

He couldn’t help but be in a better mood as he let her straddle him and push his back down onto the blanket. He crossed his hands behind his head and admired the view while Joey shook up her sunscreen and squeezed some on to her hand.

“Just don’t put any of that on my face.”

“But you need sun protection on that handsome face of yours if you wanna stay handsome.”

“It gets in my eyes and stings.” Frank explained.

“Well you gotta use a different one for your face, silly.” Joey teased as she massaged the lotion onto Frank’s arms. Once that task was done, she reached back into her bag and found her smaller tube of sunscreen especially designed to be used on the face and added some to her hand.”You gotta take better care of yourself, Frank.” Joey softly sighed. “There are people that want you here for a long long time.”

“Oh, yeah?” Frank squinted when Joey pulled his sunglasses off, but still tried to look over to where the kids and they were both busy digging a hole with Gus. “Like who?” he hummed and ran his hands up her thighs.

“Well, Mary, of course.” Joey hummed backed with a sly smile. She leaned in closer to properly spread the sunscreen on his face and giggled at the silly scrunched up faces he made while she worked. “But I’ve grown pretty fond of you myself.” she confessed with a goofy smile and quickly rubbed her nose against his. “I want to keep you for a very _very_ long time.” she purred.

“Good to know.” Frank smiled back before he quickly tossed her off of him. “I’m going to play with the dog before I end up having my wicked way with you.”

“Wait!” Joey stopped him before he took off and went back into her huge bag and pulled out a floaty dog toy and tossed it to Frank.

“I’m gunna start calling you Mary Poppins.”

Joey got comfortable on her stomach and her and Fred watched Frank play fetch with Gus while Mary and Sam hunted for seashells. Whenever Sam found a good one he would run over to Frank and show him. Sam was desperately seeking his approval and it was adorable. Frank would always humor him and praise his discovery then pat him on his head before sending the three year old off to find another one.

Gus couldn’t have been happier running through the waves and Frank looked carefree as he wadded in and let the lower half of his jeans get wet. Joey loved seeing Frank so content and at ease; she had a hard time taking her eyes off of him.

It dawned on her that she had wasted months waiting to feel for Kevin what she had managed to feel for Frank in just a short time. Her life had changed so much in a blink of an eye. She had all of the things that she wasn’t sure she wanted and all of her unexpected riches left her feeling so unnerved, but also grateful.

For as much fun as Joey was having with Fred, she was just itching to get into the action and away from her heavy thoughts. She took out her phone and ran out towards the kids and took a few candid shots of the two of them building their own little stream through the larger tide pools.

It felt great to take pictures again, even if they were just with her phone. It was almost as if she was revisiting a part of herself that she had ignored for years.

Frank stood in the water and stopped throwing Gus’s toy and watched Joey twist herself into all kinds of angles while she tried to manipulate the light to get the right shot of the kids. Even though she was just using an iPhone, Frank could see the professional photographer in her come alive. He loved seeing all of the different sides of her. The more he knew her, the harder he seemed to fall for her.

Mary hammed it up and posed for a few pictures and Joey encouraged her silliness and instructed her where to stand and they laughed together when Joey turned her phone over and let her see the results of their work.

Frank hadn’t noticed that Sam had toddled over to show him another seashell when the little boy wiped out hard beside him and fell face first into the water. The waves had picked up and had crashed over the toddler before he could stand up, but Frank quickly spotted him and he swiftly scooped Sam up and held the crying child against his chest.

“Shhh. It’s okay, little man. I got you. Just breathe.” Frank tried to comfort him the best he could, not caring that Sam had completely soaked his clothes.

Sam was coughing and shivering, but wrapped his little arms around Frank’s neck and followed his advice. Frank was impressed by the little guy’s toughness as he pulled himself together and looked out onto the water.

“That was kinda scary, huh?” Frank asked him as he sat him on his hip and walk along the water with him. Joey was making her way over to them, but Sam rested his head on Frank’s shoulder and dried his own tears.

“Hey, monkey, did you fall in?” Joey lovingly asked. She could see that he was in good hands, but wanted to make sure.

Sam nodded his head and when Joey went to take him from Frank, Sam refused and held on to him tighter.

“Looks like you made a new friend.” Joey smiled to Frank with pride.

“Sam’s my pal. Aren’t cha, bud? I’ll go dry him off and change his clothes. Watch Mary for me?”

“Of course.”

Joey went back to Mary and the two of them hung out while Mary made small talk and asked Joey why she wanted to become a florist.

“I dunno, to tell you the truth. I’ve had a lot of different jobs.” Joey explained. “A friend of mine needed some help one day and he made it seem really fun and it just sorta stuck. I like that I can be creative and make a person’s day a little brighter, I guess.”

“Don’t they send flowers to funerals, too?”

“Good point.” Joey puffed out a laugh and smoothed Mary’s hair. “Ed's funeral is this week. I heard that the two of your were pretty close.”

“Yeah.” Mary sighed. “He was pretty cool. He never treated me like a little kid or let me win when we played chess.”

“It sounds like he was a really great guy.”

“He was. I’m glad that you kept Gus and that you and Sam are moving into his house. It sorta helps to know that he’s being taken care of and gets to live in his old home and that he doesn’t have to go and live with a stupid foster family.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Joey cooed. Mary had an edge in her voice when she said _‘foster family’_ and Joey was worried about her. “I heard about what happened a few months ago. Did you want to talk about it?”

“There’s not much to talk about. I hated it there. They didn’t even let me use their piano. But Frank apologized for sending me there…”

“We all make mistakes, Mary. Even grown ups. Sometimes, _especially_ , grown ups, unfortunately. But I’m sorry that the two of you had to go through that.”

“Me, too. At least he found Fred when they took him away.”

“He did!” Joey beamed. She could clearly see that Frank would always be Mary’s hero and her heart swelled with pride. “If it helps, I don’t think that he would ever let anything like that happen again.”

“I don’t think so either.” Mary stated emphatically. “He thought that he was bad for me, but we all know that that isn’t true. I’m not going anywhere ever again.”

Joey was in awe of Mary’s spirit. How in the world had so much intelligence, compassion, humor, and toughness ended up being crammed into such a tiny little person? Mary was so resilient; any other child would have been left with the wounds of abandonment. But not Mary, she understood the situation and had forgiven Frank and trusted that he still loved her unconditionally. Frank might be Mary’s hero, but Mary was quickly becoming Joey’s hero as they hung out on the beach.

It wasn’t long before Joey looked over at her two men and they were both sleeping soundly in Frank’s lawn chair with Fred and Gus sleeping in the shade underneath them. Sam’s damp hair was serving as a small makeshift pillow for Frank’s chin and Sam mouth was hanging open against Frank’s chest.

The two of them were adorable, and, after Joey quietly adjusted his umbrella to protect them from the sun as they slept, Mary mimed to her that she should take a picture of them, so, of course, she did. Frank was a sweet guy and now Joey had tangible proof.  
\-----------------------------

Frank had no idea what time it was when he finally woke up. Sam was still sleeping soundly on him and he didn’t want to wake up the little guy, so he shifted slightly in his chair to get a little bit more comfortable. True to form, Gus had stayed by Sam’s side, but continued to keep a watchful eye on Joey a few feet away down the beach.

Frank would never admit it, but it was nice to hold a kid like that again. Mary was cuddly, but she was growing up and most of the time she’d rather wrestle or play. Frank rubbed Sam’s back and smiled to himself as he listened to him snore against his chest.

He spied down the beach and watched Joey and Mary hang out. Joey had shed her overalls and was now wearing her bikini top and her boyshort bikini bottoms and it looked like she was trying to, unsuccessfully, teach Mary yoga.

If Frank listened carefully, he could almost make out what the two of them were saying.

“This blows. There’s no way I can do this.” Mary pouted. “Sand in an uneven surface. This is impossible.”

“I’m doing it.” Joey reminded her as she stood in tree pose with her arms high up in the air. “Don’t you dare give up. I know you can do it.”

To her credit, Mary did try again, with a defiant scowl on her face, but ended up falling over seconds later.

“I suck!” Mary frowned before she punched the sand with her little fist.

“You do not suck.” Joey sharply retorted. Joey wanted to hug the little girl but stopped herself, after she took a moment to put herself in Mary’s shoes. “You’re not used to being an amateur, huh? I bet you pick up on things pretty quickly.”

“Yeah, for the most part. But this is different. I can’t do it. It's no use, I’ll never be able to do it like you do.”

“Not if you keep giving up.” Joey pointed out with a wink.

Mary didn’t look any happier so Joey sat down on the sand next to her and lifted Mary’s chin up so that she would look at her.

“I know you can do it. You can do anything. I sucked when I first started, too.”

“You did?”

“Yup. I looked ridiculous and the boy that I was trying to impress laughed at me. It pissed me off so much that I practiced every day and I ended up becoming an instructor.”

“Did you end up impressing the boy?”

“I have no idea. I was too into yoga at that point to even notice him.”

Mary giggled and Joey wrapped her arms around her and looked out onto the water.

“What are you thinking about when you’re trying to balance yourself?” Joey asked into Mary’s blonde hair.

Mary went into a long explanation of various angles and points of contact and some equation that Joey couldn’t understand.

“Well that’s the problem.” Joey interrupted her. “Turn off that genius mind of yours and focus only on your breathing.”

“Turn my mind off?” Mary looked at her aghast. "Why would I want to do that?”

“Trust me. Focus only on your breath. Let everything else go. Have you ever had a hard time figuring something out? Sometimes stepping away and recharging can bring a fresh perspective to things. Yoga has helped me do that so many times. Just try it my way, okay.”

Joey stood up and helped Mary up so the two of them could try doing the tree pose again. Mary followed Joey’s advice and, after a few tries, she got it and she didn’t fall over.

Joey looked over to her little yogi twin and she couldn’t have been more proud of her. Mary was standing tall in tree pose with the wind in her hair and peaceful smile across her face. It was in that moment that Joey was sure that she loved that little girl as much as she loved Sam. It was almost impossible for her not to. Mary was such a wonderful little person and Joey felt so privileged to know her. Maybe opening her heart to Sam had changed her and had made it easier for her to bond with Mary in a similar way.

Either way, Joey had never seen it coming, but it filled her heart in such a powerful way. But it also added more pressure to her new relationship with Frank. Joey looked over to Frank and to her surprise he was awake with his arms wrapped around Sam and must have overheard her and Mary.

The insightful look on his face took Joey’s breath away and her footing faltered and she broke her pose. Frank was feeling the same thing she was. The stakes were so high now that that they cared about each other’s children.

Joey swallowed down the hard lump in her throat and gave Frank a reassuring smile. This could only be a good thing, she told herself. She had only good intentions where Frank and Mary were concerned and trusted that the same was true for Frank.

Frank smiled back and kissed the top on Sam’s head to signal that it was okay and Joey felt a great sense of relief wash over her.

Joey was giddy and quickly hooked Mary around her waist and swung her in the air; tickling her with her other hand.

“I knew you could do it! I knew it!!” Joey cheered as she ran around the beach with her.

For Frank, trusting Joey with his heart (as monumental as it was) was one thing, but trusting Joey with Mary’s heart was something else entirely. But Frank couldn’t help, but flirt with the idea that everyone was going to be fine.

All of the doubt that had hounded Frank for years hadn’t resurfaced as he had expected it to. He was so used to rejecting anything good that came into his life, but now all he felt was hope as he held Sam and watched Mary laugh with Joey.

Sam started to wake up and Joey asked Mary if she was hungry. After spending the majority of the day outside, they were both starving and made their way back to the boys.

Frank stopped making fun of Joey’s overpacking ways, when she started pulling out all of the food that she had prepared for everyone. She handed him a juice box and their fingers touched for a lot longer than they should have.

They both wondered if that spark between them would ever die down, but for now, they just tried their best to hide it from the kids. But Mary picked up on everything and had a huge smile on her face in between big bites of her sandwich.

“You need more sunscreen, Frank.” Joey reminded him.

“I’m fine.” Frank brushed off Joey’s concern and focused on Mary. “You looked good out there, Mary. Do I need to buy you a yoga mat now?”

“You need sunscreen.” Mary answered back. “Joey’s right.”

“Great, gang up on me. I said I’m fine. Geesh. Leave a guy alone.”

Mary and Joey shared a look and shook their heads at his stubbornness. Moments later, Joey handed Frank a paper plate with his sandwich torn up into little pieces and Frank took it with a puzzled expression.

“Is this Sam’s?”

“Nope. It’s yours. If you’re gunna act like a baby, then you can eat like a baby.”

“Baby, Frank!” Sam laughed with a mouthful of food.

“Great. You, too, Sam Wise? Gimme that.” Frank pretended to be upset as he grabbed the sunscreen and applied some quickly to the back of his neck and his arms.

“So, Joey. Who is your favorite philosopher?” Mary asked as if it were a very normal question to ask.

“Mary.” Frank sighed and gave her a sharp look for putting Joey on the spot.

“You said that if you liked a girl one day that she should have a good answer.” Mary pointed out.

Joey blushed and figured that the cat must be out of the bag about her and Frank, but she was going to let Frank handle this one.

“We’re friends, Mary.” Frank groaned.

Mary and Frank started squabbling and Joey blurted out, “Popeye!”

“What?” Frank laughed.

“Popeye is my favourite philosopher. Don’t laugh, he is. _‘I yams who I yam and that’s all that I yams’_. Is there anything more profound than that?”

“Yams? That makes no sense.” Mary scoffed. “Maybe you’re the one that got heat stroke”

“Don’t be rude.” Frank chastised as Joey tickled Mary’s side in retribution. “He’s a cartoon character, the saying is _‘I am who I am, and that’s all that I am.’_ I like it, I like it a lot, actually.”

The more that Frank thought of the meaning behind those words, the truer they became to him. He spent so much time and energy trying to be someone else. Once he finally stopped, he was the happiest he’d ever remembered being.

“Did I pass?” Joey beamed up at him.

“A+, Kincade.” Frank answered with a twinkle in his eye.

Their whole little picnic on the beach was so easy and full of laughter. Frank could have spent his whole life there on Joey’s large blanket listening to the waves and playing with Sam’s hair. Even Gus and Fred were curled up napping together as if they were best friends.

But all good things have to come to an end and soon it was time to pack up. Joey changed back into her cute overalls and Mary helped her pack up all their stuff then Frank carried everything back to their cars when it started to get late. Luckily, they hadn’t parked close together so Frank sent Mary to the truck to wait for him while he said goodbye to Joey.

After Sam was all buckled into his car seat, Joey circled around her car where Frank was loading up her trunk and stuffed her hands in her pockets.

“Thanks for inviting us. This was fun.” Now that they were alone and there were no kids around Joey started to feel shy for some reason.

“Come ‘er, Kincade.” Frank sighed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. “This was good. All of it.” he whispered into her hair and felt her hands go up inside the back of his shirt. “I want to keep you for a long time too, ya know that? Can I call you later?”

“Absolutely, Adler. I’m all yours.”

Joey looked up at him and their eyes met and Frank licked his lips. Joey remembered how good he tasted and wanted to kiss him so badly, but, before they got a chance, they heard Mary honk the horn from Frank’s truck and they both started to giggle.

“Let her wait.” Frank smirked as held Joey’s smiling face with both hands and leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back and hummed in delight, she couldn’t remember feeling so drunk on a person before.

Frank tilted her head to the side and deepened their kiss and Joey could feel how hard his heart was beating when she ran her hands down his chest. They had to stop, they were adults after all, but neither of them were feeling very in control of themselves in that parking lot.

Joey quickly pulled away and raised her hand between them to shake his hand.

Frank took a deep breath and played along while he shook her hand and they said their goodbyes. Neither of them could wipe the smiles off their faces as they got into their cars and went back to their normal lives.

\--------------------------------

The next day, Joey and Alice were sitting out on the patio of a local restaurant having lunch, with Gus tied to Joey’s chair, and Joey was trying her hardest to get Alice to tell her everything about her new boyfriend, Barry.

Unfortunately, Alice wasn’t budging and tried to turn the tables on Joey by asking her about Frank and laughed when, instead on answering her, Joey stuffed a huge forkful of salad in her mouth and mumbled something that Alice couldn't make out.

It was a good thing that she hadn't understood her, because if Alice had heard Joey confess that she had actually fallen head over heels in love with Frank after only two weeks of knowing him, Alice would have lost her mind and would have had Joey committed.

When Alice left to use the bathroom, Joey couldn’t resist texting Frank to see how work was going. After their family beach date, the two of them had talked on the phone until two am and she was curious to see what kind of shape he was in the next day.

Joey: How’s your day going handsome? Did you get any beauty sleep?

To her surprise, Frank answered her text right away. She loved it that he didn’t play hard to get.

Frank: I’m still as pretty as ever but I forgot my damn lunch on the kitchen counter. But on the bright side it looks like the catamaran I’m working on will be done soon so I’ll be getting paid. What are you up to?

Joey: I’m having lunch with Alice. Are you at the main dock today? I’ll bring you a burger.

Frank: You’re amazing, Kincade. Did I ever tell you that you’re a lot more than a gorgeous face and smokin hot body?

Joey: Flattery will only get you extra fries. How do you like your burger, smartass?

Frank was in his workshop wiping the sweat off his brow, when he heard a dog bark. Before he knew it, Gus was on his back by his feet begging him to rub his tummy.

“Hey, boy! You’re happy to see me, huh.” Frank abandoned his work and played with the golden retriever and ignored the puzzled looks from the different people walking by. “Did you bring me lunch, Gus? Did ya?”

Joey had finally made her way to his workshop with a big paper bag and a drink in her hand just in time to witness the epic cuteness of Gus licking Frank’s smiling face.

“Sure, take all the credit, why don’t cha! I’m the one trying to earn good girlfriend brownie points!” Joey teased.

Frank stood up, brushed himself off and tried to pretend like he hadn’t just let his guard down acting like a little kid playing with his puppy.

Joey looked amazing and Frank couldn’t wait to show her off to everybody working on the dock. She was wearing raybans and a cute pair of short denim shorts and a big baggy Ramones t-shirt, Frank couldn’t believe that he was dating someone so effortlessly cool.

Joey handed him the bag with a smirk and Frank wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her lips. Joey kissed him back and could taste some of the sweat that had formed around the edges of his beard and was instantly turned on. There was something about a salt of the earth man working with his hands that just did it for her. She half hoped that he would lay her down on his workbench and have his way with her.

“You can earn your brownie points later, Joe. I’m starving.” Frank teased when he could tell that she was turned on. He gave her butt a little swat and took her hand and lead them out to the water. “We can eat on the catamaran, I might even share my fries with you.” he teased with a big smile.

When Frank was happy and playful, Joey wanted to do cartwheels like a little kid. Hot handyman workbench sex could wait. Happy Frank made the whole world feel brighter.

The boat that Frank had been working on was technically a catarman, but to Joey it looked more like a small yacht. There was a nice table for them to sit at on the deck and, true to his word, Frank shared his fries with her, but he found it hard to eat his burger when one of his hands constantly wanted to touch his lunch date.

Joey giggled and leaned over and licked some ketchup off the corner of Frank’s mouth and, rising to the occasion, Frank took her hand and licked some ketchup from her fingertip without saying a word.

“Wow.” Joey hummed as she felt Frank’s tongue brush up against her finger. “Who knew that ending a four month dry spell would be this spectacular, huh? I can practically feel my skin humming whenever we’re together.”

“Good, I’m glad that you feel that way, too. I thought I was the only one.”

It was almost magical and Joey couldn’t remember a burger and fries being so romantic before. They were lost in each other that they nearly missed seeing Gus jump out of the boat and run down to the dock to make a new friend.

Frank noticed before Joey did and jumped up to fetch him. Gus loved the water and Frank feared that he might jump in somewhere where he’d have a hard time coming back out again.

Joey followed behind with her heart in her throat, but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Frank talking to the older man that Gus had wanted to say hello to.

“Joey, this is Mr. Anderson. Mr. Anderson, this is my girlfriend, Joey Kincade.” Frank introduced her with pride while Joey shook the retiree’s hand. “It’s his boat we’re having lunch on.”

“Nice to meet you, lass. And who is this magnificent beast I might ask!” Mr. Anderson bellowed with a thick Scottish accent.

“This is Gus. He’s too friendly for his own good.” Joey teased as she watched the older gentlemen play with her dog. What was it about Gus that turned grown men into mush?

“Well, I tell you this, Mr Alder. If you bring good ol Gus with you, then I might just have some more work for you!”

Frank looked surprised, but excited by the prospect of gaining more business.

“I have nothing lined up after your catamaran, what did you have mind?”

“My wife and I just bought the resort about a mile away, are you familiar with it?”

“Yes, sir.”

It was interesting for Joey to watch this side of Frank. He was obviously taking Mr. Anderson’s job offer more seriously than Mr. Anderson was. Mr. Anderson hadn’t stopped playing with Gus while he offered Frank a full time position to service his small fleet of boats since the handyman that had worked there previously was retiring.

Frank stood up straighter and Joey knew that he felt put on the spot. She wished that she could find a clever way to leave him and Frank alone, but she felt as stuck as Frank did.

“That, that is…” Frank cleared his throat and tried to pull himself together and act as professional as he could. “That’s a great offer…”

“Good. It’s settled then, lad. Come by tomorrow at noon and I’ll have my secretary deal with all the particulars. But remember, no Gus, no deal. My poor wife is allergic, so this is a loophole that I think I can get around.” The old man laughed.

And just like that, Mr. Anderson greeted a friend down the dock and left to say hello to them and Frank just stood there stunned and blinking down at Gus.

“Gus!” Joey squealed. “Did you just get Frank a job? Lassie’s got nothing on you, boy!”

“Shit. Did that just happen?” Frank mumbled as he ran his hand down his face.

“It did.”

“That was odd though, wasn’t it? I mean who offers someone a job with a dog attached?”

“A rich old man that loves dogs but can’t one of his own.” Joey laughed. “He seems a little eccentric, but harmless.”

“You don’t think he like... _likes_ Gus to do?”

“No! I don’t think he’s going to try and put the moves on my dog!” Joey laughed and playfully smacked him.

“Wait! Will you let me take Gus to work everyday? I feel like I’m using you for your dog.”

“Are you asking me if you could look after my dog for me while I’m at work and Sam is at playschool?” Joey giggled. “Beats having him alone at home all day. I’ll have to come up with a way to earn some more brownie points, because at this rate you’ll totally have me beat!”

“Come on, we can go make out in my truck to celebrate, I’m sure you’ll end up earning a few.”

\---------------------------------

That Monday, Frank met with Mr. Anderson’s secretary and noticed a few more dogs running around the resort and felt a little bit more at ease. It was a good job offer and the prospect of a steady income felt really good.

Between keeping Mary, meeting Joey and, now, a new job, things were going so well, Frank almost didn’t trust it. After sharing the news with Joey, she had really wanted to celebrate with him and Mary, but apparently Ed had been a pretty popular guy and she had to work overtime to get all of the bouquet arrangements finished in time.

Instead, Frank took Roberta and Mary out for dinner. Coincidentally, they ran into Jessie and Sam at the same restaurant and they moved their tables together. Frank happily shared his fries with Sam the same way that he had shared with his mom the day before on the dock and teased the happy little boy about their family resemblance.

By the end of their dinner, Sam ended up in Frank’s lap and Jessie and Roberta both noticed how comfortable they were with each other and how Frank naturally tended to him as a father would. After Frank put Sam in his carseat for Jessie, Roberta warned, “I hope you know what you’re doing.” but hadn’t waited for an answer before she got into her car.

The next day, Frank had to smile when he woke up to small bouquet of sunflowers waiting for him by his doorstep with a _“Congratulations!”_ balloon attached and a note that Joey had written telling how proud she was of him and signed it _“from Gus, P.S. as your manager I get 10% woof woof xo.”_ She must have gotten off work late at night, but had wanted him to know that she had been thinking about him.

Frank had never received flowers before and Mary loved them and gave them a place of pride on the kitchen table. He would never admit it, but it was probably one of the nicest things anyone had ever had for him and he couldn’t stop looking at them. Joey always had a way that made things a little brighter; even when they had a funeral to go to.

Ed’s funeral had to be on of the happiest ones that Frank had ever attended. Everyone shared their good memories and toasted more times then they probably should have. Ed had insisted that his funeral not be a somber affair and everyone had done their part to keep to his wishes.

Joey had handled all of the flower deliveries early that morning and made it back home in time to change and head to the viewing with her mother. Once Joey and Jessie arrived, they saw Frank, Mary and Roberta all dressed in their Sunday best, but only smiled and waved at each other from across the crowded hall. But during the service, Joey had caught Frank looking at her and the two of them continued to share looks that were completely inappropriate in church.

During the luncheon, Joey pulled Mary aside and gave her Ed’s old chess set. That was the first time that Mary had cried that day, but they were only happy tears.

After she thanked and hugged Joey, Mary whispered into Roberta’s ear and Roberta nodded her head and tried to choke back her own emotions. Whatever Mary had said to her had Roberta taking Mary’s hand the two of them went into the viewing room and walked towards Ed’s coffin.

Joey and Frank hadn’t had much of an opportunity to see each since their lunch date on the dock. But they stood side by side and watched Mary and Roberta while their hands brushed up against each others.

As it turned out, Ed had always referred to his late wife as his _“queen”_ and Mary had always teased him and told him that that would make him _“the king”,_ but he had always brushed off the little girl’s praise. Now, as a final gesture to her friend, Mary opened up the chess set and took out the king and the queen pieces and left them with him.

Joey looked over to Frank and the love that he had for Mary was written all over his handsome face. Frank in turn, could feel Joey’s eyes on him and took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb against the top of her hand all without taking his eyes off Mary and Roberta.

“She’s something else, huh.” Joey whispered as she squeezed his hand. “I told you you've done an amazing job raising her.”

Joey could see Frank swallow hard and he squeezed her hand back. As emotional as the moment was, they were both grateful that they had the opportunity to share the moment with each other.

That evening, after the funeral, Mary spent the night at Roberta’s, and, before Frank took out his phone to call Joey, he looked out his window and saw her outside on Ed’s old porch drinking a beer with Alice. The lights were on in the house and it looked like the two of them were taking a break from painting. He knew it was just a matter of time before he made his way across the street to see her, but for now he was content to spy on her and watch her be silly with her cousin.

“Seriously, Al, put your phone away!” Joey giggled. “It feels like an invasion of his privacy.”

“Oh come on! ‘Rate Your Professor’ is a public site. I’m not breaking into anything.” Alice scoffed and kept scrolling on her phone.

“I never should have said anything, you’re the worst. Look, it’s a touchy subject with him, so please don’t bring it up around him, okay.”

“Oh my god!” Alice gasped. “Here he is! Frank Adler assistant professor at Boston University. Well I’ll be damned!”

“Is there a picture?” Joey peeked over her cousin’s shoulder and tried to get a better look.

“Oh, look who’s interested now!” Alice laughed. “He’s got a 4.5 out of 5 rating overall and, of course, he scored well on the hotness scale.”

“They score how hot a professor is?” Joey gave in and was now officially all in and wanted to know everything. “Of course, he did, my man is the hottest thing ever.”

“Look at all these girls gushing about his after hours tutoring, that’s gotta be code for fucking.”

“Shut up!” Joey scoffed and punched her cousin’s shoulder.

“Wow you really like him, huh?” Alice stated to obvious and rubbed where Joey had hit her.

“Yes, so stop talkin’ shit.”

“Fine. You hit like a girl anyway.”

Joey looked so happy, Frank couldn’t help but smile as he watched her and Alice play fight on the porch. Alice was sure to kick her ass and he was about to go and save her when a big moving van pulled up and obstructed his view.

By the time Frank made his way across the street, three men had started unload the contents of the van and Joey was trying to figure out what was going on. She looked flustered and pale and Alice was on her cell phone trying to get some answers. It looked the men were impatient to unload an entire set of large appliances.

“I didn’t order any of this stuff.” Joey insisted to a man holding a clipboard.

“Stop unloading!” Alice barked to the men with her phone still by her ear.

The men did as they were told and Frank made his way to Joey and rubbed her back. He was just as puzzled as everyone else.

Alice continued to yell at the movers until a car pulled up and Barry got out and helped Joey’s boss, Sheryl, out of the passenger side like a good son. Once Alice saw Barry, Frank heard Alice curse under her breath.

“Just breathe, gentlemen.” Barry announced. “She's all bark.” he chuckled.

“I’m gunna kill him.” Alice muttered as she crossed her arms.

“Can someone please tell me what’s going on.” Joey implored. “Half of the neighbourhood would like to know as well, apparently.”

Frank looked around and, true to form, his nosey neighbours were living up to their reputation.

“Come on, Al.” Barry smiled with outstretched arms and walked over to Alice and hugged her with her arms still crossed.

Barry whispered something into Alice’s ear that no one else could make out and she eventually giggled and hugged him back. Frank and Joey couldn’t help but give each other an exasperated look before they smiled at the absurdity of the situation.

“I told him not to, but he obviously didn’t listen.” Alice started to explain. “Barry owns the appliance warehouse...”

“What! This is too much.” Joey insisted when she realized what she meant. “I can’t accept...”

“Nonsense, Joey.” Sheryl piped up. “Old floor models, all of them. You’re doing my son a favour by taking them off his hands. I spent the other day with your mother and that precious little boy of yours and there is no way I’m going to let another heat wave run through this county without a proper air conditioner in his house.”

Alice introduced Joey to Barry while the movers went back to work unloading, but Joey couldn’t believe what was happening. She found herself in a state of shock and had no idea what she actually said to him. She felt like she was underwater and only half heard him explaining the inventory.

Alice and Barry had started talking amongst themselves and his mother and Joey found herself short of breath. A panic seemed to wash over her and all she wanted to do was run. Run fast and far until her legs gave out.

She gave into her impulses and did just that, but only made it to the side of her house before Frank caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

He was not prepared for the the look of terror in her eyes when she looked at him and it cut him to the quick.

“Whoa, whoa! What happened?” Frank smoothed her hair and pulled her against his chest. He tried to comfort her, but when he felt her start to sob into his chest he became just as terrified as she was. He had no idea if he had it in him to take care of her the way that she deserved. He had never been ‘that guy.’ A woman’s tears were usually his cue to run.

“It’s just too much.” Joey mumbled through her sobs into his shirt. “Everything is….everyone is just so nice…things are so good!”

“Shhh, baby, please don’t cry.” Frank’s heart was breaking for her. He had never seen her like that before. There was a big part of him that still wanted to bail and hand her off to Alice, she would surely know better than him what Joey needed. But there was something inside him that just couldn’t leave her.

“Good things don’t happen to me,” she explained through her hiccuped sobs. “...what if...I just don’t deserve all of this. I don’t deserve any of it..what if they figure it out...Oh my god! What if _YOU_ figure it out?”

“Breathe, Joe.” Frank tried to soothe her, but she was inconsolable and pushed him away. “Let yourself be happy, it’s okay. Trust me, I just got a job because some rich old man liked your dog. Life is weird. I know how you feel, though. Some cute girl showed up out of the blue in a Led Zepplin shirt and I had to figure out how to let myself be happy, too. It’s okay, Joe, just breathe.”

“Don’t you understand! I didn’t want any of this!” Joey shouted. “I didn’t want kids and now Mary and Sam are everything to me! They’re my whole world. I never knew that I could love this much before. It’s terrifying! It’s like my heart is living outside of my god damn chest, I’ve never been so vulnerable in my life. I mean, how in the hell has the human race survived this long! Loving children this much is the scariest thing I’ve ever done. And you’re talking to a chick that got high and jumped out of a fucking plane!”

Frank tried not to laugh while she kept ranting. God he loved her. Even tear stained and out of her mind, he loved her. He might not have been able to handle emotional situations with other women before, but he knew he could walk through fire for Joey. Hearing that she included Mary on her list of children that she loved reinforced all of the feelings that he had for her. They were really two sides of the same coin. He remembered feeling all of those same terrifying emotions as well when he started to love Mary as his own and couldn’t bare to give her up as a baby.

“Anything could happen to those kids. Anything! Any mistake can fuck them up.” She sobbed. “I suck at this. I never even budgeted for an fucking air conditioner. We live in Florida. What the hell is wrong with me? ”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. My air conditioner barely works.” Frank sighed. “I don’t know much, but love has gotta be a good thing, Joe. And you have boatloads of love to give those kids. This might not have been your life’s ambition, but you’re trying. You’re trying real hard and you’re doing fine. Better than fine, actually. But you gotta let people help you, too.”

“This isn’t me. I rejected all of this for years. I always signed the shortest lease that I could get away with.” Joey stubbornly continued as if she didn’t even hear him and let the tears stream down her face. “I didn’t want to be tied down to one place and now I own a goddamn house and have to pay property taxes! And _YOU!_ ” Joey accused as she looked him up and down and aggressively wiped her tears away. “I just wanted to take you and your stupid Hawaiian shirt home from Ferg’s and fuck away all of my problems, but now...now you’re everything to me, too. It’s too much. I feel too much! Nothing used to matter and now everything matters! I’ve never been this happy before, something is going to happen to fuck it all up. This isn’t ME!”

“This is you, Popeye.” She was frantic and Frank quickly stepped towards her held her face in between his hands and made her focus on him. “This is you. Right now in this moment; this is you. ‘You ares who you ares’” Frank puffed out a small self deprecating laugh and he thought he might start crying as well when a ghost of smile crossed her lips. “You became a mom and it changed you…. and that’s okay. This who you are now and you do deserve to be happy and, if I have my way, I plan on making you a hell of a lot happier. Everything has happened so damn fast. Give yourself a chance to settle in and get used to your life here. You’re a tough chick, but you gotta give yourself a break.”

Alice had overheard the majority of Joey’s freakout and peeked around the corner of the house, where she caught Frank’s eye. He held up his hand to motion that he had it covered and she left them to do damage control with everyone else and cover for her cousin and oversee the movers.

“Breathe, Joey.” Frank pleaded as he held her close she accepted his comfort and melted into his arms. “I got you. Just breathe.”

 

 


	15. "Irreplaceable"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey deal with the fallout of her emotional meltdown and Joey and Roberta have a heart to heart.

After the movers had finished unloading all of Joey’s new appliances, Sheryl walked over to visit Jessie and Sam and Frank found himself on the most awkward double date in history. The four of them hung out in silence while Barry, Alice, and Joey watched Frank take out the old ugly light fixture in the kitchen.

Frank stood up on a step ladder and looked around what would soon be Joey and Sam’s new home. The work that those Kincade women had managed to accomplish in such a short time was very impressive. It was amazing how big and bright the old house looked after a fresh coat of paint and some new window treatments.

Frank handed Joey the old ugly light fixture that he had promised to replace, while Alice held up a flashlight to give Frank enough light to focus on his tedious task. One would think that, after everything that had just happened with Joey, home repairs such as that wouldn’t be on the forefront of a person’s mind. But the truth was, Frank would rather do just about anything than talk about what had happened outside. Small talk about the house was a little easier than talking about his girlfriend's meltdown and Frank wanted to keep himself busy.

He knew that he was just postponing the inevitable and that he and Joey had a lot more to discuss. He had important questions that he needed answers to, but Frank didn’t want an audience for that kind of conversation, nor did he want to pressure Joey to open up to him before she was ready. So tedious chores it was.

 _Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad,_ Frank thought to himself. Joey was slowly starting to act more like herself and he wanted to keep it that way. But it was unsettling how she had first stared at the new fridge, stove, and dishwasher as if she were afraid to touch them. Barry had noticed her concern and had assured her that even though the fridge and dishwasher both had a few small dents in them that everything worked just fine.

But the cold look that she had given Barry when he managed to smooth out those aforementioned dents had sent a shiver up Frank’s spine. It was almost as if she'd wanted them to remain imperfect in order to deserve them somehow. He hated that she still didn’t feel worthy of people’s kindness but made a mental note to never get on her bad side.

They all knew that there was a giant elephant in the room, but none of them had the guts to bring it up. Frank could tell that Joey had started to feel terrible for causing so much drama. Little did he know, she was actually about to clear the air and apologize to everyone for freaking out, but before she could open her mouth, they heard the front door open and slam shut.

“Barry Nelson! How dare you!” Jessie stomped over to Barry and pointed her finger just inches away from his face.

“Hello, ma’am.” Barry stammered with his face turning red. Jessie was the closest thing that Alice had to a mother and he had been feeling the pressure to impress her, but obviously his master plan to save the day had failed and he was no closer to becoming the hero that he had hoped he’d be.

“Don’t you 'ma’am' me.” Jessie snapped.

“Ma. What’s wrong? Where’s Sam?” Joey interrupted with concern and tried to take the heat off of Barry. Witnessing her mom freak out on him, as well, made her feel even worse for reacting so foolishly to his generous kind hearted offer.

“Sam, that beautiful little boy, is watching Bubble Guppies with Sheryl. Something that I was hoping that he would be doing on a regular basis with _ME_ while you came over and did your laundry twice a week. But NOW,” she had added as she'd stared daggers into a stunned and sweating Barry. “It looks like I won’t be seeing you as often as I thought!”

“Barry meant well, Aunt Jess.” Alice tried to explain.

“Um umm. I’m very sorry...I just thought...umm. It just that Alice was telling me about her cousin and I...I wanted to help where I could. I wouldn’t be much help with renovations, or changing the lights out.” Barry had motioned to Frank still working up on the step ladder. “This seemed like an easy way to help…”

Jessie knew that she was being unreasonable and softened slightly towards Barry as she dropped her shoulders and let out a defeated sigh. Poor Barry looked like he was going to be sick, but it was interesting for Joey and Jessie to watch Alice take his hand and help him through his social awkwardness.

“Ma, I live three houses down from you, you’re gunna see me all the time.” Joey soothed as she rubbed her mom's back and pulled her into a hug. After everything that her mother had done for her and for Sam, it killed Joey to disappoint her. She just couldn’t stop messing up and hurting the people who were the kindest to her she lamented to herself.

“I know, sweetheart.” Jessie sighed. “I just know how you are sometimes. You get antsy and all wonderlust like. I’m just worried that you’re going to feel the need to explore and spread your wings again. I liked the idea of you needing me again.”

“I do need you, silly.” Joey laughed into her mom’s hair. “Sam doesn’t exactly fit easily in my suitcase, you’re stuck with me till he turns 18. If it makes you feel any better, you could come over here and do my laundry for me.”

Jessie giggled and swatted Joey on the butt before she apologized to Barry for losing her cool.

Everyone could tell that Barry was a sweet guy and he had just been trying to impress Alice and get in good with her family. Judging by the heart eyes that Alice had while she watched Barry interact with everyone, she was already very impressed with him and there was no need for him to try and play the hero. Even though Barry hadn’t appeared to be Alice’s standard type, it was nice for Joey to see her cousin, finally, with someone that had a good heart.

Out of the corner of her eye, Joey saw Alice pull Jessie aside with a hopeful look in her eye and Joey knew that her cousin was seeking Jessie’s approval. Joey took the opportunity to link arms with Barry and led him away to thank him again for being so nice to her and to apologize for freaking out over his generosity. Now that she had a chance to calm down, she had realized how foolish she had acted and hoped that he didn’t think she was crazy.

“Seriously, Joey, it’s okay, I understand. You’ve been through a lot. It was really my pleasure. I’ve done this before, so it’s no bother. A few years back, I donated some floor models to a woman’s shelter….not that I think you’re some kind of charity case, though!” Barry quickly added with a trace of fear in his voice.

Joey took pity on him and laughed and smiled sweetly to put his fears to rest.

“The truth is, I owe you. I really do.” Barry confessed. “I’ve been trying to get my mom to hire someone to help her out in the shop for years now, but she's never found anyone that she liked. She’ll never admit it, but she works too much…”

“And you got a chance to impress Alice and her family.” Joey pointed out with a knowing smile.

“That too.” Barry blushed. “Do you think it worked?”

“My cousin looks really happy.” Joey smiled. “And I’m pretty sure you had something to do with that. Fridge or no fridge, if you keep that smile on her face then I’ll always be in your corner.”

Joey looked to Frank who was trying his best to mind his own business up on the step ladder. He had been another man responsible for putting a smile on the face of a Kincade woman. Joey felt terrible for the way she had freaked out in front of him. She could count on one hand the amount of people that she had allowed to see her in such a state.

She just hoped that she hadn’t caused any damage to their relationship or had him rethinking things. Joey had no idea if Frank had it in him to navigate through such complicated emotional situations with a significant other. He had always been so honest with her about his shortcomings and his lack of relationship experience.

Jessie hugged Alice in the corner of the empty living room and Alice appeared to be wiping away happy tears. Of course her mother would approve of Barry. It was silly of Alice to doubt it.

“Well then,” Jessie announced before she choked back her emotion. “It looks like both of my girls are all grown up. A family dinner is in order. I have a Girl Scout meeting this weekend, but I expect the four of you at my house for dinner next weekend. No exceptions, _Frank.”_

Joey smirked up at him and tried not to laugh at the hopeless shocked look on his face when her mother had called him out. Over the years, her mother had grown to know Frank well and figured that, if one of them would try and duck out of a formal family dinner, it would have probably been Joey's new grumpy boyfriend.

Joey could tell that Frank hadn’t been thrilled about his mandatory dinner invitation but his reaction had been the mirror opposite of Barry’s who had looked so happy to have been included. So much so, that Alice had elbowed him to remind him to calm down.

“Looking forward to it.” Frank smoothly recovered and gave Jessie a small salute.

Soon after Jessie left with Barry and Alice, Joey and Frank were left alone together in the empty house. Joey was getting progressively more nervous without Barry and Alice there to act as a buffer. They hadn’t addressed the things that she had blurted out during her panic attack earlier and she could practically hear all of the heavy thoughts that Frank was trying to hide from her.

“I’m almost done. The wiring in this place is ancient.” Frank mumbled through the screwdriver that he had between his teeth.

“Thanks for doing all of this.” Joey shoved her hands into her pockets and started to chew on the inside of her cheek. She hadn’t been lying outside when she'd confessed that Frank meant everything to her; she would have to suck it up and address the elephant in the room if she wanted them to stand a chance. She'd let so many things slide with Kevin and they had grown further and further apart as a result; history couldn’t repeat itself with Frank.

“No problem.” Frank stated to her new light fixture. “There that should do it.” Frank announced and handed her the screwdriver before he stepped off the step ladder.

“I’m sorry...you know...about all of that out there.” Joey rubbed her lips together and noticed that Frank had a hard time looking at her. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like...if I put you on the spot. I really thought that I was doing a much better impersonation of a person that had their shit together. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were considering replacing me with a less dramatic model.” Joey’s attempt at making light of the situation fell flat and Frank looked even more upset with her and shook his head.

“Just answer me one thing.” Frank’s voice was low and serious and it made Joey stand up a little straighter. “Are you going to bail?” he asked to the floor. “I mean, between the stuff you said out there and your mom worrying about you getting antsy. Just tell me now. I’m I getting too invested in something that’s just temporary.” Frank’s intense blue eyes met hers and the determined look in them took her breath away. “Because replacing you isn’t a fucking option for me.”

“Frank.”

“Look, I’m not looking for some kind of guarantee that we’ll work out. I just need to know that you want to be here. From what you’ve told me...this...this is a very different life from what you lived before.”

“Different?” Joey repeated as she puffed out a small laugh. “It’s as different as night and day. But I want to be here.”

Joey couldn’t help but sweetly smile up at him as she cupped his serious face in the palm of her hand. Her fear was gone. All she felt was her love for him and how protective she was over his heart.

“Look at you. How could I not want to be here?” Joey felt tears well up in her eyes again and tried her hardest not to fall apart again. “I’ve lived out of a suitcase for years trying to find some kind of meaning in the world. It seems poetic that all of things that truly matter have been here the whole time. Between my family and you and Sam...and Mary.” She figured that at this point it was safe to add her to the list since she had already impulsively confessed her love for her earlier. “I have so many wonderful reasons to stay right where I am.”

“Jesus, Joey.” Frank sighed and covered her hand with his own and pressed her palm against his face. He let out sigh and closed his eyes. She was going to make him cry if she kept talking like that. “I really want this to work.”

“So do I.” Joey whispered as she stood up on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. “You matter, Frank, you matter a lot. I’m sorry if I made it seem like that was a bad thing. Meeting you was...it was a really amazing thing...I’m so sorry I fell apart like that.”

“Shhh. Don’t apologize, just please don’t run.” Frank implored her as he looked into her eyes. He took her hand away from his cheek and placed a kiss on her wrist.

“I promise.” Joey held up her pinkie finger and Frank rolled his eyes before he gave in and let her make a pinkie promise with him like the adorable person that she was.

“Good. You scared the hell outta me, Kincade.”

Joey wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her flush against him while they looked into each other’s eyes. Frank choose to believe her, but had visions of a beautiful bird trapped in cage. She had led such an exciting life before she'd moved home. He couldn’t help but worry that he was holding her back somehow. But only time would tell if his concerns were valid.

“You can always talk to me, you know.” Frank cleared his throat and pulled himself together. “You can talk to me about anything...even if it’s hard.”

“Damn, Frank, where did you come from?” Joey repeated the same words that she had said during their first night together and it dawned on Frank that it was her code for ‘I love you.’

It amazed him that she could actually love a man like him. He didn’t feel worthy. Frank tucked her hair behind her ears and held her head in his hands. Even though he loved her back, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words yet, but this was a code that he was willing to use.

“Apparently, I’ve been here waiting for you to show up.” Frank answered with conviction. “I’m all in, Joe. It’s scary as hell, but I’m not holding back anymore.”

Joey could see the love in his eyes shining down at her and she knew that they were going to be okay. The openness that he shared with her was her favorite thing about him and it never failed to make her feel like the luckiest woman alive.

“Come on, Adler.” Joey smiled. “I wanna give you the five cent tour. If I have my way, you’re gunna be spending a lot of time here in my humble abode.”

Joey took Frank’s hand and dramatically gestured to the rest of the house with her free hand like she was a model on the Price is Right. He laughed at her and called her a dork and she knew that they were back on track and it made her feel downright giddy.

Between the paint and new appliances, the old house looked leaps and bounds better than it did before. Frank was impressed with all of the little touches that Joey and Alice had added. They had replaced the hardware and handles in kitchen and all of the light switches and plugs. They were really trying to modernize the old house and it showed.

Sam’s bedroom was painted a nice light blue with fresh white trim and the master bedroom was white with a dark dove grey accent wall. She had no plans for the third bedroom yet, but had pondered turning it into either a guest bedroom or using it for extra storage the way that Ed had. Frank could tell that Joey and Sam were going to be very happy there and a small part of him was a little jealous.

The two of them held hands while they flirted and finalized plans to refinished the old hardwood floors. Joey was interested in the process and insisted that she would be there to help him and had no issues with getting her hands dirty.

“Besides, it should really put our relationship to the test.” Joey teased.

“You’re nuts.” Frank laughed. “What do floors have to do with anything?”

“You never know, Alder. Did I ever tell you about the guy I dumped after I built an Ikea dresser with him?”

“I take it you guys didn’t work well together?”

“Nope, I wonder what’s Swedish for dickhead?”

Frank barked out a loud laugh that echoed through the empty house. Joey always had a way of bring out the humor in every situation. He was so happy that she was back to her old self and swooped in, dipped her and kissed her smiling lips and felt her giggle into his mouth. This was the Joey that he loved and he resisted the urge to tear her clothes off and make love to her in her empty living room.

“Are you going to be okay with this whole family dinner thing?” Joey asked while he still had her dipped over. “Is that moving too fast for you?”

“Piece of cake, Kincade.” he grinned. He was so grateful that he hadn't bail on her and that they'd made it through her meltdown. Surviving it had him believing that they could make it through anything. “Wanna take bets how many drinks Barry spills during dinner?”

“Huh?”

“I’ll explain later.”

That night, Joey and Frank went back to Joey’s mom’s house and tucked Sam into Joey’s bed. She planned on spending the night across the street with Frank and had already set her alarm to wake herself up in time to make it home before the little guy woke up.

Joey laid beside Sam and played with his hair while Frank read him Green Eggs and Ham for the third time in a row. It was sweet and fun and, even though they were looking forward to spending another night together, neither of them actually wanted the little boy to fall asleep. Everything felt right with the world when they all were together; but all three of them agreed that only thing that would have made the moment better would be if Mary had been there with them.

“Good night, Sam I am.” Frank whispered when he looked up from the book and found both Joey and Sam fast asleep. He turned off the lamp and kissed the top of Sam’s head. Standing up, he walked around the bed and looked down at Joey sleeping soundly beside her foster son with Sam’s beloved stuffed penguin laying between them.

Frank wasn’t sure how Joey had managed to do it, but as he looked down at her, she had made striking out (again) so meaningful. She was so heart explodingly beautiful. For as much as he wanted her, he wasn’t going to wake her up to take her home with him. Between working overtime for Ed’s funeral and fixing up her house, she had been working non stop and had to be exhausted. Besides, watching them sleep side by side, Frank knew that she was exactly where she should be.

He grinned to himself in the dark room and realized that he really was evolving. In the past, he was ashamed to admit, that there hadn't been much he wouldn’t do to get lucky. But, now, putting Joey’s needs ahead of his own felt so natural.

Frank pulled the blanket at the end of the bed out from under Gus and tucked Joey in and kissed the top of her head the same way that he had done with Sam. She almost looked like a little kid herself as she slept. Frank’s heart was so full as he gazed down at her with her long lashes fanned out along her cheeks and her full lips slightly parted.

“Good night, Kincade.” Frank whispered. “You’re irreplaceable and I’m going to make you happy here, I promise. Look after them, Gus.” Frank softly ordered to the dog at the end of the bed.

Frank took one more look at Joey and Sam and, as he turned to leave, he saw Jessie leaning against the doorframe. The look on her face indicated that she had overheard him tucking Joey in and was moved by his feelings for her daughter and grandson.

Frank had been caught, but he nodded and tried to play it cool as he quietly walked passed her. He thought he had been home free only to have Jessie grab his arm in the hallway.

Frank didn’t know what to say to her and hoped that they weren’t going to have one of those _“what are your intentions with my daughter?”_ conversations. But to his surprise, all Jessie did was pull him into a hug and thank him.

“I haven’t done anything.” Frank brushed off her thanks as Jessie walked with him to the door.

“You’ve done more than you realize, Frank. Thank you.”  
\-------------------------

Joey texted Frank the next morning before work, apologizing for passing out on him and promising to make it up to him in the sexiest way possible. Frank teased her and told her that he would hold her to that promise and would put her through her paces. Then laughed when she sent him an Energizer Bunny GIF in response.

They had a great time going to Home Depot with Mary, later that evening, to rent the equipment needed to refinish the floors. Joey ended up falling deeper in love with Mary and her recently acquired knowledge of home reinvention. Mary had done her research to try and help in her own way and it was adorable.

Frank watched his girls interact in the hardware store and tried not to let on how happy it made him to see them bonding and finishing each other’s sentences. Joey brought out the sweet seven year old side of Mary that Frank loved the most and, seeing how much Mary looked up to Joey, made Frank’s heart swell with pride.

Frank noticed that Joey had the same look in her eye when she looked Mary that she had when she looked at Sam. It was impossible for her to hide her feelings, they were always written all over her face.

Joey was smitten with Mary and Mary just ate up all of Joey’s cuddly attention. Frank couldn’t help but wonder what their lives were going to look like in future as they paid for their items. The longer that he knew Joey, the more confident he became that she was one of the best decisions that he had ever made. He was so deep into his pleasant day dream that he barely noticed the cashier attempting to hand him his receipt.

Joey stood behind Mary and had her arms resting on the little girls shoulders when she noticed the dreamy look in Frank’s eye and gave him a little smirk to let him know that he had been caught. But she was taken completely off guard when Frank took a step towards her and placed a soft kiss on her lips right in front of Mary.

Joey let go of Mary and held his face in her hands as she kissed him back and they smiled against each other’s lips when they heard Mary let out a small cheer beneath them and muttered, _“I knew it!”_

It had been a great moment. Joey continued to trust Frank’s instincts and followed his lead. He surely knew what was best for Mary. In all honesty, Mary was so bright that it was unlikely that she hadn't known that they had feelings for each other already. Being honest about it was a good call and Joey couldn’t help but feel like they had reached a new stage in their relationship. She didn’t even mind it when Mary gloated the whole way home.

\------------------

The next two weeks had them all getting used to their new normal. Frank started his new job and, with all the work she and Frank were doing, Joey was getting closer to moving into her new home.

Picking up Gus every morning before work had held a few unexpected benefits, for Frank. It meant that he and Mary got a chance to see Joey and Sam before school and work and it wasn’t long before Joey started to add little treats into their lunches whenever Jessie had done some baking. The new schedule made Joey and Sam a regular part of their day and Frank, and Mary, woke up every morning excited to see them.

In his new job, Frank liked that he was able to work alone for the most part, but it was nice to have Gus there to keep him company. Mary got a chance to visit him, one afternoon, and the two of them had lunch together and played fetch with Gus by the water. She was adapting well to her new workload and had more time and energy to be a kid and work on her Girl Scout badges.

Mr. Anderson had a granddaughter Mary’s age and the two of them hit it off as well. The whole resort had a low key vibe about it that calmed Frank’s nerves and allowed him to consider a brighter future for him and Mary. Working freelance had provided him with the freedom that he craved, but this new job was really the next best thing.

During the evenings after work, Frank and Joey worked on her floors and, to his surprise, they worked very well together and didn’t end up bickering as much as Joey had thought they would. A few frustrating setbacks had brought them close to losing their cool, but they usually ended up laughing at each other and joking their way out of it. Joey had been right, it was a very good test of their relationship and Frank was impressed at how well they were fairing.

For the majority of the time, Jessie would look after Sam and Mary at her house and make them all dinner so Joey and Frank could focus on their renovations. Living so close to her mother was proving to be very convenient, but Joey hated that her mother still felt that she had to be overly helpful in order to keep her from moving away again. Joey told herself that, in time, she would be able to put her mother’s fears to rest.

At first, Frank and Joey would take turns checking in on the kids, but they got such a kick out of watching Mary and Sam bond that they had taken to checking in on them together. They never knew what they were going to find when the popped in. Sometimes, they would be curled up together watching SpongeBob or both helping Jessie bake in the kitchen. Once, they even found Sam’s head resting in Mary’s lap as she worked on her laptop.

But what really warmed their hearts were the times that they had worked a little bit later into the night and came home to Mary reading bedtime stories to Sam or when they found the kids sleeping together in Joey’s bed with both of their little hands resting on Sam’s stuffed penguin.

Mary had kept her word and continued to do her best to prove to Sam that she cared about him and that she wasn’t going to abandon him like his biological parents had. But what thrilled Joey the most was how Sam had accepted Mary into his little heart. All of Mary’s efforts appeared to be paying off and they were inseparable. There wasn’t a picture that that little boy drew that didn’t include her and Frank.

Back at Joey’s house, Joey and Frank were having fun working together. Maybe too much fun. Frank was proving to be a very handy guy and he kept finding new little jobs to do that would improve her new home. They were actually getting a lot done, but, given their sexual chemistry, it was difficult for them to keep their hands off each other and they _might_ have perfected the art of the quickie up against the wall.

Desperate times called for desperate measures and, since Joey didn’t have a stick of furniture in her house yet but lots of walls, they'd taken full advantage of the kids not being there. They had indulged in their passion for each other countless times over the course of their hours spent working together.

Frank made it his mission to make love to Joey in every room of her little house and Joey was more than willing to help her hot handyman achieve his goal. Being with Frank was so easy, the hardest part was not blurting out how much she loved him as he studied her body and made her come over and and over again.

“I’m gunna go check on the kids before dinner.” Joey announced as she jumped into her jeans and threw her t-shirt back on after their most recent quickie. “I’ll be back in a sec. Want me to bring you back a beer.”

“Damn, Joe. That would be perfect.” Frank grinned as he pulled his jeans on as well. “Come ‘er.” Frank couldn’t seem to get his fill of her and pulled her into another searing kiss and dipped his tongue passed her full lips. “Perfect, like you.” he groaned.

“I need to get my bed in here. I have a feeling that you’re going to look amazing in it.” Joey purred as she ran her hands up his bare chest.

“Kids and beer.” Frank playfully ordered and swatted her butt when her big blue eyes started to fill with lust again. “We’re almost done, quit being so sexy.”

“I can’t believe how great this place looks, Frank.” Joey stated in awe. He was right, all they had left to do was to apply the gloss to the floors and then they were pretty much finished. She was going to miss not having a project to work on with him. “Thank you so much for all of this…I could never have done this without you.” Joey beamed.

The way Joey looked at him made Frank feel ten feet tall and made his chest ache with pride. Building something with her was more fulfilling than he thought it would be. He didn’t tell her, but he had a mounting laundry list of projects that he wanted to do for her around her house and in her yard, but didn’t want to appear too presumptuous and over step with his long term plans. Frank was finally looking towards the future and it felt great to know that the results of his hard work would make her and Sam’s life a little better.

“It was fun, Joe. You were a big help.”

“Ha, I was a big distraction.” Joey laughed. “I’m not sorry though, something about watching you work, just kinda does it for me. I’m glad you stocked up on the protection.” Joey added with a wink.

“You’re my favourite distraction.” Frank charmingly flirted with a sexy heated stare. “Making you happy kinda does it for _me._ ”

Joey bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling too big and turned on heel to leave for her mom’s. Frank was the sexiest man she had ever had the pleasure of knowing and she knew that if he kept looking at her like that she would be on her knees with him in her mouth again in record time.

She was on cloud nine and practically floated over to her mother’s house until she saw Roberta in her mother’s driveway and her heart dropped. She and Roberta hadn’t had very pleasant run ins lately and the look on Roberta’s face indicated that this would be another one of those unpleasant encounters.

“Sorry, I’ll leave.” Roberta snapped as soon as she saw Joey approaching the house.

“What? Why? Come in.” Joey practically whined and resisted the urge to stomp her foot like a child. “Why would you think you had to leave just because I showed up?”

This had been the first time that Joey had seen Roberta for at least two weeks. She had been so busy with work and renovations she hadn’t had a chance to try and clear the air with her. The last time that Joey had seen Roberta had been outside of Frank’s house when she had to do her embarrassing walk of shame in her little black dress and her tall fuck me heels.

“Roberta.” Joey sighed. “What’s wrong? How can I make this better? You’re the last person that I want mad at me.”

The coldness in Roberta’s eyes started to fade and all Joey could see was pain written all over her face and it made Joey’s heart fill with concern.

“I just miss her is all.” Roberta sniffed. “I hadn’t bargained for this. I really didn’t think that this day would ever come.”

“You miss her? Is there something going on between you and my mom? Because my mom loves you, you’ve been best friends for so many years...”

“Jessie and I are fine. It’s Mary that I miss.” Roberta blurted out as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “I know that she’s in good hands, but I haven’t seen that girl in weeks. I know it’s not my place, it just hurts.”

“Oh Roberta!” Joey cried and wrapped her arms around the older woman and led her to her mother’s porch steps and sat down beside her. “Why in the world would you think that you weren’t welcome to see her?”

“I went through this before, when Frank decided to send Mary to school.” Roberta explained. “I knew what was going to happen, but I didn’t get a say. I’m not a relative, I have no legal standing. Then, when he sent her to live with that foster family and I didn’t get a say in the matter that time either. Now...now Frank has went and done the impossible.” she sadly laughed. “That man finally decided to grow up and invite a woman into her life...I never thought it was possible. And here I am...and I still don’t get a damn say in any of this.”

“Do you...disapprove of me and Frank?” Joey cautiously asked. “You can’t think that I’m bad for Mary?” Joey was unsure if she wanted to hear the answer. To Joey, Roberta’s opinion of her really mattered and the thought of being a bad influence on Mary made Joey’s tummy hurt.

“No. Sometimes I wish I could hate you, but I don’t. You’re wonderful and Mary needs a mother.” Roberta sniffed and tried to find the strength to let her go. “I’ll miss her, though. Maybe one day it won’t hurt this bad.”

“This is...this is wrong, Roberta.” Joey felt like Roberta was trying to imply that she had to give up Mary because she was now in her life. The mere idea outraged Joey and she tried to keep her voice down. “This is so fucking wrong. For lack of a better word, you’ve been Mary’s mother since she was a baby. Frank dating someone doesn’t change a damn thing.”

Roberta tried to interrupt her but Joey put her hand up and stopped her.

“All she knows is you.” Joey continued. “I’m not looking to replace you, that was never my intention.” Joey took Roberta’s hand in hers and made her look her at her. “I could never replace you. No one could. Mary needs you. I can’t see a single reason why we both can’t love that little girl.”

“Is that what you want?” Roberta scoffed as if the idea was impossible. “You want another woman around raising a child that you’re trying to raise with Frank?”

“I don’t know if Frank and I are at the place yet where we're trying to raise each other’s kids.” Joey lied.

Ever since their beach date, blending their little families had been Joey’s secret little fantasy that she liked to daydream about when all four of them hung out together. But that’s all it was, a fantasy. She knew that they weren’t ready to take that kind of step. Joey might be fooling herself, but she couldn’t fool Roberta. Roberta saw right through her and knew that Mary and Frank meant more to her than she had been letting on.

“But if we _were_ ready…” Joey concede after being on the receiving end of a pointed no nonsense look from Roberta. “...the more people that love Mary the better. If I had met Frank and he had been a single dad, I would never try and freeze out Mary’s biological mother, so why would I want to freeze you out?”

“Do you mean that? I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. If Mary has the chance to have a traditional family, I don’t want to stand in her way.”

“Traditional families are overrated.” Joey smiled and puffed out a small laugh. “I’d rather have _you_ in my family, Roberta. I mean that. I only want what’s best for Mary and the best is you.”

“I see that way that she looks at you.” Roberta sadly confessed. “It’s like you hung the moon. She loves seeing Frank with you. She can see that you make him happy.”

“I see the way that she looks at you, too.” Joey quickly challenged. “You really should be given more credit for the role you play in her life. I’m not trying to compete with you. I mean it, Mary really does need you. I’ll never come between you two. Mary and I have our own relationship and you have yours with her. There’s room for both of us.”

Joey’s words appeared to have convinced Roberta and they hugged again, only this time a lot longer. Joey rubbed her back and assured her that everything was going to be fine.

“Go inside and see her.” Joey insisted. “Things will get back to normal once we’re done with the house. She has a project that she’s working on and she needs to take a break soon anyway. I’m sure she misses you, too.”

“You take after your mama, you know that?” Roberta smiled.

“I wish!” Joey shyly smiled and tried not to bush. “That’s high praise.”

“You’re good for him.” Roberta declared. “I never thought that I would live to see the day, but I for what’s it’s worth I approve of y’all, I just thought I was losing Mary.”

“It’s worth a lot, Roberta.” Joey’s eyes filled with happy tears. “He makes me happy and you’re not losing anyone. In fact, you’re sorta gaining me and Sam, if that’s okay with you. Ever since you watched him for me, he’s been asking for you all the time.”

“That baby boy is something, I tell ya.” Roberta’s smile lit up her whole face and it made Joey so happy to know that they were friends again. “I know now that you meant no harm, I’m so sorry for been so cold with you.”

Joey accepted her apology and Roberta stayed for dinner that night. Later that evening, when Joey and Frank were sitting out on Jessie’s porch sharing the last beer, Joey shared their conversation with Frank and soon everyone was on the same page.

Frank explained to Joey how much Roberta had always meant to him and Mary and how the custody case had been unfair to Roberta and her feelings. Frank hated that he hadn’t considered how she would feel with Mary having a new woman in her life.

“I’ll talk to her.” Frank sighed as he wrapped his arm around Joey and handed her the beer bottle.

“You should.” Joey sighed back and rested her head on his shoulder after she took another sip. “But not just about me, I think you should let her know how much you value her. She was so ready to believe that she could be replaced. I love her and it broke my heart. From all the stories that you’ve told me, she’s the closest thing to a mother that Mary has had. Roberta is irreplaceable and she should know that. ”

Frank nodded his head and left a kiss on her temple. Joey was right. Frank had no idea how he would have survived all these years without Roberta; him meeting a woman hadn’t changed what Roberta meant to him and Mary.

Frank was in awe of Joey’s generosity. It was no secret how much Joey cared about Mary, yet she was more than willing to share her and put his niece's interests ahead of everything else. He was sure he wouldn’t be as selfless if Kevin ever came back in the picture and wanted to be a part of Sam’s life. In his defense, Kevin was essentially a stranger to him and Sam and Frank didn’t trust Kevin not to bail on the kid again and possibly break his heart.

“I’m going to miss this.” Joey hummed after a long peaceful silence.

“Miss what?” Frank asked as she gave him back the beer bottle and snuggled into his side.

“Sitting out on the porch, like this, and watching the sunset. Other than sitting out on the beach, this has become one of my favorite things.”

“You’ve got a porch at your place, silly.”

“True, but I spent a lot of money fixing up the house, so I’m going to have to wait awhile before I can afford any patio furniture. Don’t laugh, but I’ve kinda always wanted one of those little old lady porch swings like you see in the movies.”

“You’ll make the cutest little old lady.” Frank smiled into her hair.

“I hope so, I’ll need to amp up the cuteness to balance out my grumpy old man.” Joey teased back as she rubbed Frank’s tummy the way that he liked. “I can just picture you yelling at the neighbourhood kids to get off your lawn.”

Usually, that kind of talk would have sent Frank running for the hills, but not with Joey. Knowing that she saw a future with him calmed him in a profound way. Instead of freaking out, he chuckled at her joke and agreed with her.

“Are you sure that you’re okay with tomorrow night? You know how my mom is, she’ll probably be all weepy and make too many oversharing toasts about true love and her babies growing up and make a big deal about inviting you and Barry into the family. I think she’s making her lasagna though, so it won't be all that bad.”

“Naw, Jessie is cool.” Frank insisted. “You worried that she’ll embarrass you?”

“Oh, I’m betting on it!” Joey laughed. “But she hasn’t managed to scare you away yet.” Joey smiled up at him and was in awe of how handsome he looked as the sunset around them. “Alice dating someone is sorta epic. I’m looking forward to grilling the fine Mr. Nelson, myself.”

“You and your mom.” Frank laughed and shook his head. “Two peas in a pod.”

“Roberta said that today, too.” Joey yawned. “Maybe we could duck out early if it gets too sappy and grab a margarita at Ferg’s?”

“That would be stellar. I still owe you one.” Frank reminded her as she yawned against him again. He couldn’t wait to have her back in his bed again. He hadn’t slept as well since as he had the night that he held as he protected her hair from the cats. “I’m going to add that last layer of gloss to the floors, then I’m gunna call it a night.” Frank whispered. “You should be able to move your stuff in on Monday.”

“Need some help?”

“No, you get some sleep, Joe.” Frank softly insisted and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning when I come and pick up, Gus.”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Joey jumped and sat up straight and dug into her pocket and pulled out her keys and unlaced a silver house key and placed it in his hand. “I had this cut for you, a few days ago. Now you can come and go as you please.”

“Are you sure?” Frank mouth hung open and he held the key as if it were a bomb waiting to explode.

“I take it no one has ever given you a key before, have they?” she smirked. Joey was totally smitten with that cute confused face of his.

“This is a first.” Frank smiled down at the key in his hand and waited for that familiar fear and doubt to start creeping up on him but it never came.

“Well, you pretty much have Gus for the majority of the day during the week, it makes sense for you to have a key so you can drop him off even if we’re not home yet. Besides, I don’t have much to steal...and I like seeing your face, Alder.” Joey giggled.

Frank kept grinning at the key in his hand and Joey quickly pounced on him and peppered a series of kisses on his cheek until he started to pull away and crack up at her silliness.

“Don’t sweat it, okay, Frank.” Joey whispered against his cheek. “It’s just a key.” She wanted to keep the moment light and playful for fear that the gesture might end up freaking him out. “We are still going as slow as you want to go, baby. No pressure.”

Frank nodded his head and kissed her forehead and told her to get some sleep. But on his way over to Joey’s house, he knew that it wasn’t just a key. It meant more, it meant a lot more, and he was perfectly okay with that.


	16. "Favourite"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Frank and Joey run into people from their past.

Frank was standing at the local liquor store holding two bottles of wine from the Willamette Valley Vineyard in his hands and for the life of him he couldn’t remember which one he had liked the taste of better.

Even though he had been eating at Jessie’s house for almost two weeks now, he knew that night’s formal family dinner was important to Joey’s mom and he didn’t want to show up empty handed. Besides, he figured that he’d need a nice healthy dose of alcohol to tolerant Barry’s annoying goodie two shoes act, so bringing wine would be killing two birds with one stone.

Frank sensed his upcoming defeat and sighed to himself alone in the store. He knew that Barry wasn’t faking anything. He actually was a really nice guy and that was what probably bothered Frank more. He knew he couldn’t compete with the guy on that front. After tonight, Barry was sure to take his place as Jessie’s favourite. Maybe he could impress his girlfriend’s mother by picking out a decent wine instead?

In times like these, Frank almost wished that he had the kind of relationship with his mother that Joey had with hers. Evelyn knew her wine and could have easily pointed him in the right direction, but Frank didn’t want to give his mother the satisfaction of helping him out or tipping her off that he was in a monogamous relationship for the first time in years. Just the thought of Evelyn’s impending disapproval sent a chill up his spine.

“Frank? Is that you?”

In hearing his name, Frank was snapped out of his thoughts and he spun around, instantly spotting Bonnie’s head peeking out from the end of the aisle.

“Hey, how ya doing?” Frank greeted her with an easy smile that was returned with an equally easy smile and a cute little wave from her.

Bonnie had a sweetness that made it impossible for Frank to stay mad at her. That and, with things going so well for him lately, holding grudges seemed pointless. At the end of the day, Frank figured that he had hurt her far more than her catty comment about Joey had hurt him, so he decided to let bygones be bygones.

“I’m doing good. I’ve missed you at Ferg’s last few Friday nights.”

“Ya, Joey and I had dinner out by the pier and we’ve been working on her house. I haven’t really had the time.” Frank explained. He hated how fake his voice sounded when he tried to make small talk. “We’re having dinner at her mom’s tonight, but maybe we’ll grab a drink there after.”

“So you’re a _‘we’_ now?” Bonnie stated more as a fact than a question.

“Yeah, we are.” Frank confirmed with confidence, but soon started to feel like an ass when he saw the disappointment flash behind Bonnie’s eyes. She tried to hide it, but he saw it and it made him feel terrible. It had never been his intention to hurt her, he had assumed that she was over him already since they hadn’t been together that long in the first place.

Frank figured that his kindness was causing more harm to her than good, so he smiled politely and nodded his head and tried to leave the awkward situation. The two bottles of wine he had in his hand would have to do.

“Look, about before.” Bonnie stopped him before he could get away. “It’s not really my style to go around... I dunno, _throwing_ myself at people.” She nervously laughed. Referring to her kissing him out of the blue in front of Jessie’s house the day that Ed had passed away.

Bonnie was getting flustered and covered her eyes in embarrassment and Frank remembered all of the reasons that he had found her charming and cute before. He gave her an understanding smile and silently hoped that they could all be friends and put the past in the past.

“I know.” Frank tried to reassure her in a casual way and let her off the hook. “Emotions were running high, it was a crazy day. You had no idea that I was seeing someone.”

“Joey, though?” Bonnie squeaked with a scrunched up face. She was trying to sound objective, but Frank was uncomfortable talking about his current girlfriend with his ex. “Are you sure you know what you’re getting into? I’m worried that maybe you haven’t thought this through. I was hoping that we could maybe talk...you know, as friends?”

“You never really struck me as a the Ferg’s type.” Frank sighed and shook his head. He had a bad feeling about Bonnie’s new found concern. “You haven’t been going there in hopes of running into me, have you?” Frank chuckled and hoped that his exasperation wouldn’t be confused as flirting.

“Wow. Wow, you’re really...you’re really full of yourself. Were you always like this?” she huffed. “I’ll have you know...you’re not God’s gift to women...I’m sorta seeing someone myself.” Bonnie was caught. She had obviously been going to Ferg’s to try and see him and was trying to save face. Frank gave her another patient understanding smile until she calmed down. “Maybe.” Bonnie confessed with a sweet smile. “But not in like a weird stalker kinda way. I just heard about what happened on the pier with Robert Middleton and I heard you got really hurt. He’s a big guy. I just thought that maybe you could use a friend, and I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“News travels fast in this town, huh?” Getting his ass kicked was embarrassing enough without rehashing it with his ex in the middle of a liquor store.

“I’ve been worried about you, okay. Mostly, I’m worried about Mary. I saw what you went through to keep her, I’d hate to see you get dragged into that mess again because of some girl you just met.”

“That’s not going to happen and it’s not like Joey is a stranger.” Frank insisted, but realized how naive that sounded since he hadn’t really know Joey that long.

Frank didn’t like where this was going and a part of him questioned why he had humored Bonnie for this long. He had to pick Mary up from school and get home to get ready for dinner, but Bonnie didn’t look very convinced and he had always trusted her opinion in the past. He was torn and wasn’t sure what he should do.

“I hate to be the one to tell you this, Frank, but a girl like Joey...she’s not going to help you if you get dragged into family court again.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Frank snapped. “Her dad? Is that what you’re talking about?”

“Yes. He’s bad news.”

“I know all about him and that has nothing to do with her. If we were all judged on our parents I wouldn’t fair very well, myself.”

“You’re right.” Bonnie nodded and fidgeted with her fingers. “I just know that Dr. Golding thought that Mary might have violent tendencies based on what she was exposed to when she was with you.”  
  
“I’m happy, Bonnie.” Frank softened towards her and felt bad for raising his voice. “Mary is happy, too. You know as well I as I do that Mary isn’t violent and for what it’s worth neither is Joey.” It bothered Frank to his core that Bonnie was trying to use the court case against Joey in a twisted way but he tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. “I’m sorry that we didn’t work out.” Bonnie rolled her eyes but Frank kept talking. “You were great and I was a dick. But I was in a bad place and you were right. Back then I would have made a shitty boyfriend, but I’m hoping to change that.”

“With her.”

“Yes.” Frank felt like shit. He never should have gotten involved with Bonnie in the first place, he had obviously hurt her and had no idea how to make it better.

“I mean, are you really sure about this, Frank? You don’t have the best track record for thinking things through. You have Mary to think about. I know that Joey is...she’s beautiful. She’s always been beautiful, but maybe Joey isn’t the best influence, you start seeing her then two minutes later you’re getting into -”

“Thank you for your concern.” Frank interrupted her with a sharp look. “But we’re fine. Joey had nothing to do with that fight and she has nothing to do with her dad. That Robert guy was…” Frank shook his head and stopped himself from explaining himself any further. He realized that there was nothing that he could say to her that was going to change her mind.

“You might not know this but...Joey had a reputation when we were kids.” Bonnie explained to her shoes. “I just don’t want to see you and Mary to get mixed up in anything…I don’t want you guys to get too attached. She was never the ‘putting down roots’ forever type.”

“I’m running late.” Frank cordially stated in a professional way and Bonnie’s eyes went wide when she felt his wall go up. “I gotta pick Mary up from school.” Frank waved to her as if she hadn’t just insulted his girlfriend and insinuated that he didn’t have Mary’s best at heart.

He didn’t like that side of Bonnie and didn’t think twice before he left her standing there and paid for his wine.

\--------------------

Frank dropped Mary off at Robert’s, later that evening, and Frank pulled Roberta aside and quickly put her fears to rest about losing Mary and echoed everything that Joey had told her the previous day.

“You know that I’m not good with all of this heart to heart stuff, Roberta.” Frank sighed after he quickly got everything off his chest. “But you’re not just a babysitter. When I was pretty sure that I had lost Mary for good, you were there for me and I never really thanked you for that.”

“Come on, Frank, if you start cryin’ then I’m gunna have to pretend to start crying…” Roberta teased with a straight face and a twinkle in her eye.

“Nice to see that you haven’t lost your sense of humor.” Frank chuckled. He was grateful that she hadn’t drawn out their conversation and made it overly painful for him.

“You look nice.” Roberta looked him up and down and praised his outfit.

Frank had chosen one of his well tailored dark grey suit jackets, matching dress pants and a pressed collared shirt; all remnants of his teaching days. There was no way he was going to wear a tie, he’d leave that to Barry.

“Thanks.”

“You let that woman of yours handle the heart to heart conversations.” Roberta declared. “She’s real good at it.”

“Well it helps when you have a heart as big as the one Joey has.” Frank replied with a shy smile. “You know, she really cares about you and about Mary, too. Mary is lucky to have both of you.”

“Well well well.” Roberta knowingly smiled. His feelings for Joey were written all over his face, he couldn’t hide it even if he tried. “I never thought I’d live to see the day that Frank Adler fell head over heels in love. It’s a good look on you.”

“You be good for Roberta.” Frank called out to Mary in the living room after he rolled his eyes at his old friend.

“Have a good night and don’t you worry too much, Jessie don’t bite...much” Roberta teased with a wink.

“Good to know.” Frank chuckled. “And next time, just so you know, I expect you to break down my door before you let two weeks go by without seeing you.” Frank sweetly smiled to Roberta before he accepted a hug from her and left to see Joey.

\------------------------

Normally, Frank would have rathered had a root canal than spend the evening with a woman’s family. But as he knocked on Jessie’s door, he was only feeling that normal, _“I hope I don’t mess up,”_ kind of nervous and not that, _“I need an escape route because getting laid isn’t worth this kind of grief,”_ kind of dread.

It was nice to know the difference because it kept him grounded and stopped him from freaking out and making another mistake. He really didn’t want to let Joey down because, aside from his nervousness, he was really excited to see her again.

“Oh shit!” Joey blurted with her mouth full when she opened her mother’s door and saw Frank standing there in another nice suit. She was starting to wonder how many he owned.

“Hey?” Frank chuckled. She looked adorable dressed in a Blondie t shirt and a pair of cropped grey sweatpants with a half eaten apple in her hand. “Nice to see you, too?”

“You look so good. I should’ve dressed up. I’m so sorry.” Joey talked a mile a minute and almost choked. “I had to work late and just got Sam down. I haven’t had a minute… should I change? Yay, I should get changed.”

“You look fine.” Frank laughed as he pulled her towards him and gave her a kiss, humming when he tasted remnants of the apple on her full lips.

“I missed you.” Joey purred as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. He smelled so good that he started to make her mind go all fuzzy. She had a crappy day but being with him again was quickly changing that.

“I missed you, too. That’s why I’m early, I just had to see you.” Frank grinned. “You really do look amazing, don’t sweat it.”

“You do _not_ look amazing, Josephine.” Jessie sharply interjected from behind Joey. “Go change. No arguments. I’ll entertain our guest.” Joey smiled up at him quickly and took off leaving Jessie to greet Frank with a sweet smile. She accepted the wine that he had brought for dinner, when he offered it.

“What no flowers?” Jessie gave him her best disappointed look and Frank stood in the living room speechless. “I’m just kidding, Frank!” Jessie laughed and led him into the kitchen. “Roll your sleeves up, dear, I’m putting you to work.”

Joey carefully closed the door to her mother’s guest room behind her and turned on a lamp, hoping that she could be quiet enough to not wake up Sam.

Seeing Frank had her feeling lighter than she had all day and she really wanted to have that feeling back, so she didn’t want to waste too much time changing her clothes so that she could get back to him.

 _You’re so whipped_ , she chastised herself in jest.

She had already worn her favourite little black dress on their first date and she was hoping that she had something suitable with her and not sitting in her storage unit with the bulk of her wardrobe. For the first time in a long time, living out of a suitcase was starting to stress her out.  
  
She managed to find two more dresses in the back of the closet that were sure to impress Frank, but were a little too revealing for a family dinner. Choosing either one would surely earn her the wrath of her mother. But as luck would have it, she found another simple black dress in the bottom of her duffle bag. She hoped that it still fit and that it looked somewhat different from the other black dress that she had worn on their first date. This one was a little shorter, had a V-neck and capped sleeves whereas the other one was longer and had straps.

As she squeezed herself into her old dress, she wondered if Frank was the kind of guy that would even notice such thing. She had to admit, it did feel nice to dress up for him, though. They had been going at it like bunnies, for the past week, while they'd worked on her house. But she hadn’t exactly been dressing to impress him, but, rather, to refinish her floors. The sexual connection between them was so strong, neither of them really seemed to care what the other one was wearing.

Anxious to save him from her mother (and to possibly impress him by looking like a girl), Joey ran her fingers through her hair and managed to put on a little makeup and quickly made her way back out into the main part of the house without waking up Sam.

Joey smiled to herself, in anticipation, and hoped that her mother hadn’t scared Frank away yet. But the closer that she got to the kitchen, the bigger her smile became. All she could hear over the small kitchen radio was Frank and her mother’s easy laughter.

Joey had no idea what they were laughing about when she quietly leaned against the doorframe and watched them together. Frank had taken off his suit jacket and had his sleeves rolled up as he sliced the peppers for the salad while her mother was checking on the garlic bread in the oven. Both had already poured themselves a tall glass of wine and seemed perfectly comfortable together.

The scene completely warmed her heart. Granted, her mother had known Frank for years, but this kind of thing was still very new for Joey. In the past, her mother hadn’t had much of an opportunity to truly know any of her past boyfriends; at least not like this. Joey had no idea that she had been missing out on such a wonderful experience; she almost didn’t want to break the spell by making her presence known.

“Well. I’ll talk ta Joe. I can rent a little fishing boat from work, show the little man how it’s done.” Frank had laughter in his voice before he took another sip of his wine.

“He’ll love that! Hey, baby girl.” Jessie beamed at her daughter as she walked over and kissed her cheek. “You look lovely. I was just telling Frank about Sam’s little fishing expedition this evening.”

“Oh!” Joey laughed. “He’s adorable.”

Joey and Jessie had found the little three year old tying a string of dental floss on the end of his toothbrush that night, trying making his own makeshift fishing rod. It had been adorable and Joey had promised him a real one for his birthday after they'd practiced ‘fishing’ together in the bathroom sink.

“You wanna take him fishing? For real?” Joey incredulously asked Frank as her mother handed her own glass of wine. “Thank, ma.”

“What? I fish...kinda.” Frank smirked. “Mary’s not really into it so it’ll be nice to have some company.”

Joey looked awesome in her black dress and Frank tried not to blatantly check her out in front of her mother. But as his eyes traveled up her body and finally landed on her eyes, Joey gave him a look that let him know that he had been caught and that she had enjoyed the attention.

He could feel their pull and tried to stop staring at her, but it was difficult. She was definitely worth putting up with a formal family dinner for. The kindness in her big blue eyes continued to take his breath away; Bonnie was so wrong about her.

“Well fishing is one thing, but fishing with a toddler is something else entirely.” Joey winked at him before she took a sip of her wine. “Gosh, this is amazing!” she praised and took another sip. She wasn’t much of a wine person, but her mind was quickly being changed. She continued to find herself impressed with her new man and all of his various talents.

“Did I pass?”

“A+, Adler. As usual.”

\-------------

After Alice and Barry showed up, everyone started to develop a comfortable rhythm with each other and Joey was impressed with Frank’s charming ways. She loved how easily he fit into her life and was relieved that he showed no signs of bailing.

Of course, Barry had shown up in a tie and was more nervous than he should have been, but her mom had a welcoming way about her that soon put him at ease; Frank did, too, for that matter. Joey watched him take pity on Barry and forgive his clumsy awkward ways and found a way to lightheartedly calm him. Joey was so proud of him and Alice was very grateful for Frank’s help.

Barry was proving to be a very good guy and Frank had started to warm up to him. It was hard not to notice how much Barry cared about Alice. He hung on her every word and seemed intune to her needs in a way that made Frank constantly ask Joey if she needed anything during dinner.

“Dude!” Joey leaned in and whispered. “Chill, I barely fit into this dress, the last thing I need is more garlic bread.”

“Gotcha.” Frank whispered back with a smile and squeezed her knee under the table. “More for me then.”

All of Joey’s predictions did come true. Jessie toasted to the two new members of her family and wished the couples all the happiness in the world through her happy tears. It was touching to see how much Jessie loved Joey and Alice. To think, a month ago, Frank had no idea that Jessie even had a daughter and, now, he couldn’t imagine his old neighbour without Joey.

Barry had fared well during the majority of the questions that Jessie and Joey fired at him during dinner. Frank was impressed at how in sync Jessie and Joey were as they seemingly tag teamed their questions. Those Kincade women were so pleasant and downright friendly, you would have no idea that you were witnessing an honest to goodness interrogation.

But Frank had to laugh when Alice threw her garlic bread at Joey when her questions started to become more personal and put Barry on the spot. Frank couldn’t blame her. He had almost choked on his wine when Joey had brazenly asked Barry how long he'd had feelings for her cousin.

Luckily, the garlic bread launching hadn’t started an all out food fight, but it did serve to lighten the mood for everyone. But instead of embracing the diversion that Alice had provided for him, Barry rose to the occasion and answered Joey’s question. Barry had been nothing but forthright and honest, all evening, and treated Joey’s question in the same manner. So, Barry openly confessed that he had been in love with Alice since the fifth grade and managed to silence everyone at the table.

You could hear a pin drop. Even Gus, who was curled up under the table, stopped making noise. Frank loved the look on Joey’s face when she let the news sink in and slowly smiled at Barry and then smiled an even bigger smile at her blushing cousin. When Joey was happy, Frank could feel it like a tide wave. He wished that he could have enjoyed the moment for a little while longer, but the tables were quickly turned when Jessie turned her questions towards Joey.

“So what are you doing for the kids birthdays?” Jessie casually asked as if Barry hadn’t just dropped the most adorable bomb ever.

“Huh?” Joey mumbled and turned to Frank with questioning eyes.

“Mary and Sam’s birthdays are two days apart.” Jessie informed her plainly, as if it was common knowledge. “I assumed that the two of you were going to do something special for them.”

“I had no idea.” Joey gulped and she felt her heart drop. She couldn’t believe that she had no idea when Mary’s birthday was and she couldn’t help but feel like a failure. She loved Mary so much, how could she not know the day that she was born.

“I had no idea that their birthdays were that close, either.” Frank confessed and squeezed Joey’s knee under the table. He knew that she would beat herself up for not knowing and wanted to comfort her. “But I wasn’t planning on much, I was going to buy her a cake and take her out for dinner. Maybe have the waitress’s sing to her or something.”

“Nonsense.” Jessie stated. “Sam’s birthday is on a Thursday and Joey and I talked about having his party that weekend. I was already going to invite the girls from Girl Scouts so all of Mary’s friends will be there anyway. We should just combine the two. Oh this is going to be wonderful. I have tons of ideas!”

“I bet you do.” Alice giggled. “If our childhood birthday parties are any indication!”

“You shh or I’ll make you dress up as a clown.” Jessie laughed. “Sam’s my only grandson and I’m allowed to spoil him rotten.”

“You already used that excuse with me ...and with Joey, too, as I recall.” Alice playfully challenged. “And no clowns, they give me the creeps.”

“Me, too.” Jessie giggled and took another sip of her wine. “Well, I wasn’t wrong, though. You are my only niece and Joey is my only daughter. I can’t wait to plan something for Sam and Mary... and for you, too, my love.” Jessie beamed at Joey with happy tears in her eyes. “I think that a welcome home slash housewarming party is in order for you as well. We have so many things to be celebrate and to be grateful for.”

Joey looked over to Frank and, to her pleasant surprise, he was already smiling at her and agreeing with her mom. He had no idea what he was getting into. Her mother had a history of throwing lavish parties for the children in her life, but, after years of not having any children around, Joey suspected that this party was going to end up becoming especially over the top to make up for lost time. But Joey loved the idea of them celebrating the kids birthdays together; it felt so right.

Frank enjoyed his second helping of lasagna and listened to the girls reminisce over past birthdays and make fun of Jessie in a kind hearted way. He couldn’t help but think that he was in some kind of sitcom. He had no idea that families got along so well in real life.

Joey and Alice cleaned up, after dinner, and Barry and Frank finished their wine in the living room after their help had been refused. The two men played with Gus and made plans to take the girls to Ferg’s and Frank tolerated Barry and his almost robotic attempts to bond with him. At least Gus seemed to like Barry, so he couldn’t be all that bad, Frank told himself.

They both could tell that the girls were in the kitchen talking about them. But, based on their happy girlie tone, Barry and Frank figured that they were all saying good things. Barry couldn’t help himself and chuckled then made a joke about them passing with flying colours.

“Are you okay with us cutting out, Aunt Jess?” Alice asked as the three women walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

“Yes, you girls go and have some fun.” Jessie smiled with her arms wrapped around Joey. “I’m going to hit the hay. I’m getting old.”

“Yeah right, Ma.” Joey laughed as she hugged her back. “You could drink all of us under the table.”

“And don’t you forget it.” Jessie quipped and peppered kisses on Joey’s cheek to embarrass her until she managed to squirm away and grab her things.

“Thanks for dinner, Ms. Kincade.” Barry formally thanked Jessie and shook her hand.

“You’re very welcome.” Jessie chuckled at Barry’s formality and, when Frank thanked her for dinner, she hugged him when it looked like he was going to awkwardly shake her hand as well.

As the four of them went to leave, Jessie pulled Frank aside and he motioned to Joey that he would only be a minute and tossed her the keys to his truck. Puzzled, she left him there with her mom and drove his truck to her mother’s driveway after Barry and Alice agreed to meet them at Ferg’s.

Joey jumped into the passenger side and debated whether or not she should go in and save Frank from her mom, but, a few moments later, Frank came out with a smile on his face and bounce in his step.

“I was starting to get worried.” Joey smiled. “You okay?”

“Yup.” Frank answered popping the 'p' at the end.

“I thought that you got away pretty easy during dinner. What did she say?”

“I’m her favourite.” Frank beamed before put his truck into reverse.

“Well, whaddya know, you’re my favourite, too!” Joey beamed back at him. She already suspected that her mother liked him, but it was nice to have her suspicions confirmed.

“Well, you Kincade women have great taste.” Frank gloated before Joey leaned over and kissed his cheek as he drove down the street.

Frank looked like the cat that caught the canary and, even though she was curious, Joey decided not to press him for more details. As usual, happy Frank was more than enough for her and she figured that either Frank or her mother would spill the beans to her eventually.

\-------------------------

Frank had been going to Ferg’s for years, but, for some reason, the place felt different when he was there with Joey. In the past, Ferg’s had been his escape; the place where he went to feel like a different person and pretend that he was happy for a moment or two. But, with Joey, there was no pretending. He was actually happy and hadn’t wanted to escape a damn thing.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. When the girls got up to dance or to go to the bathroom and left Frank alone with Barry, Frank would have loved an escape route. Granted, Barry meant well and he was growing on Frank, albeit slowly, but Barry really needed to lighten up. When Alice came back to the table and pulled Barry out to the dancefloor, Frank hoped that would do the trick.

“Having a good time?” Joey asked against Frank's cheek as she came back from the bathroom and sat down in his lap.

Frank knew that he had to stop grinning like an idiot, but it was beyond difficult to keep his poker face on. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought that he would have a woman like Joey on his arm. Well, more technically, in his lap. He would have normally looked down his nose at disgustingly sweet public displays of attention, but he couldn’t help himself with Joey and he tried to ignore the looks that he was getting from Pete, the bartender, and some of Ferg’s regulars when they realized that he was now a taken man.

“I am having a good time.” Frank answered into her neck. “Do you want another drink, pretty lady?”

“Naw, I’m a lightweight. I drank my first two margaritas way too fast and Alice and I already did two shots at the bar.”

“Two!” Frank exclaimed with laughter in his voice. “Is that why you were doing that little cute dance?”

“Yeah, whiskey burns like a mother. I didn’t mean to drink so much, but I toasted hot new boyfriends and then Alice insisted that we toast to nice guys, as well. Since you happen to be both, big guy, I had to man up and down both of them!” Joey laughed with love and admiration glowing behind her eyes.

“So technically it’s my fault you’re buzzed?” Frank dryly teased as he let his hand travel up her leg and rest under the hem of her dress. He loved the way he felt when she looked at him like that.

“Drunk.” Joey corrected him with a playful nod of her head that sent her hair flying. “I think the word you’re looking for is drunk. And yes, yes it is your fault. Quit being so awesome.”

“I’m terribly sorry for my awesomeness.” Frank smiled a bright toothy smile. “I’m I still your favourite?”

“Yup! All three of you.” Joey giggled.

“Water it is then!” Frank loudly laughed and tucked her hair behind her ears. She was such an adorable drunk. “I wanna sober you up a bit before I take you home.”

“Drunk or not, I’m a sure thing, Mr. Playa. You look so good in that shirt, it’ll be me taking advantage of you, trust me.” Joey flirted and got another loud laugh from Frank. “I almost don’t remember what sex in a real bed is like anymore.”

“Well you’re in for a treat, then, because beds are very nice.” Frank hummed. She smelled so good, Frank was having a hard time keep his hand from traveling further up her leg. He couldn’t wait to make her come. “Some of my best work has been done from my bed.”

“I bet, I’m quite fond of your work...Awww, look at them.” Joey sighed as she looked over to Alice and Barry on the dancefloor. Barry couldn’t dance to save his life, but his efforts were still managing to make Alice so happy.

“Talk about an odd couple.” Frank teased as he shook his dark sexy thoughts away and took another pull from his beer.

“Maybe...but I think they’re sweet.” Joey pouted until a hiccup interrupted her cute whining.

“They are.” Frank chuckled and kissed her temple. “Let’s get you some water, lightweight.”

Joey and Frank walked over to the bar and waited for Pete to finished serving other people. They didn’t mind waiting and made good use of their time as they leaned against the bar and continued to flirt with each other and enjoy each other’s company.

The bar was packed and they could easily get away with a few stray kisses here and there without being too obnoxious. But, in all honesty, they didn’t care. Frank couldn’t stop grinning at how cute and playful Joey was and how many times that she whispered naughty things in his ear. Drunk Joey was equal parts adorable and hot as hell.

“Well I do have water at my house, you know.” Frank suggested as his hand traveled down her back and rest on her ass after she confessed to him how horny he was making her.

“You do?” Joey giggled and pretended to be amazed by tap water. “I love water!”

“Well I have tons of it. All you can drink.”

“Very impressive. Water and bed. What more could a girl want?...Well, I can think of one more thing.”

“Oh really. What’s that, sweetheart?” Frank played along and he squeezed her ass harder when he sensed more dirty talk coming from her.

“Oh, I think you know.” Joey purred and tried be as seductive as she could. “It’s big... and long…” She looked him in the eye and let out a small moan when she felt him squeeze her ass again. “...and it makes me very... _very_ happy.”

“Shit, Joe.” Frank felt himself getting hard and ran his nose up the side of her neck and kissed her temple. It was amazing how she could turn him on in record time.

“And I love how furry it is.” Joey added.

“What!” Frank practically shouted. Furry was not the word he expecting to hear coming from her pretty mouth.

The horrified look on his face make Joey burst out laughing.

“My dick is not furry!” he whispered loudly in her ear.

“Bob is though!” Joey explained through her giggles. “His a big, long furry cat and I love him! What did you think I was talking about?” she teased.

“You’re the worst!” Frank laughed. She really had him going and he tickled and poked at her side to get back at her.

“I’m the best!” Joey playfully challenged as she swatted his hands away and quickly pressed her body against his and planted a sloppy kiss on his waiting lips.

Frank wanted to laugh at her silly drunkenness, but was too busy trying to keep up with her greedy lips. He needed to get her sobered up a bit before he took her home because, if she kept this up, he was going to end up losing control and pulling her into the bar’s bathroom to have his way with her...or, more accurately, to let _her_ have her way with _him_. But he knew that he’d rather get her into his bed so he could fully enjoy her...but man. Drunk or not, Joey really knew how to kiss.

_“Oh, I get it!”_

Frank heard a familiar voice yelling at them and reluctantly broke their searing kiss and wiped his mouth a bit. His heart dropped when he looked over Joey’s shoulder and saw Bonnie standing behind her.

He gulped and couldn’t help, but feel like he had been caught for some reason. Maybe it was the way that Bonnie was staring icy daggers at him. She really had the whole “disappointed teacher” look down pat and he felt like he was in trouble. But after he took a deep breath he reminded himself that he wasn’t a child in her class and he hadn’t done anything wrong in the first place.

“Bonnie.” Frank nodded. “Twice in one day.” he yelled over the music.

“Hi, Bonnie!” Joey happily squealed. “Oh wow! I love your dress! It’s so cute! What were you saying, sweetie?”

Frank wrapped his arm around Joey’s waist and hoped for the best. As it turned out, Joey was one of those super friendly drunk girls that loved everyone and, judging by the pissed off look on Bonnie’s face, Frank suspected that Joey was about to get her good mood stomped on.

“I was just saying that I understand now. I totally get it.” Bonnie repeated with anger in her voice. Frank could tell that Bonnie had been drinking, as well, and braced himself for something ugly to happen. “You’re his Mona!”

“Mona?” Joey smiled and assumed that Bonnie was making a joke that she was too drunk to understand.

“Mona, from ‘Who’s the Boss’ You’re his Mona.” Bonnie sneared.

“The sexy grandmother?” Joey giggled but still had no idea what was going on. “Um...okay? I guess I’ve been called worse. She was pretty rad! I loved that show!”

“She was pretty rad.” Frank agreed with a smile and shot Bonnie a look that told her to calm down.

“You have to be his Mona because he can’t love people.” Bonnie motioned to Frank and ignored his silent warning.

“Frank? You mean Frank can’t love people?” Joey caught on to Bonnie’s mood and realized that she wasn’t interested in being friends. Joey’s drunk mind slowly remembered how Bonnie had kissed Frank, a few weeks ago, and realized what must be going on. For as bad as she felt for her, Joey wasn’t going to just let her insult Frank right in front of her.

“That’s right.” Bonnie crossed her arms and stood her ground. “He can’t love people, you’re wasting your time. Just like I did.”

“Well, that’s not true.” Joey scoffed as if the notion was obscured. “Just between you and me, Frank actually does an amazing job of loving people.”

“Bonnie, what are you doing?” Frank groaned and shook his head. He loved that Joey believed in him and stood up for him, but wished she didn’t have to in the first place. “Are you drunk? You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“I am, am I?” Bonnie shot back at him. “You can’t love people, you said it yourself. She should know, shouldn’t she? I didn’t believe you, but maybe it’s true. I thought it was because you were starting to feel...I thought it was because we were starting to…”

Bonnie’s anger was starting to fade and Joey wanted to hug her when she saw the pain behind her cruelty. Joey had been in her shoes before and knew how terrible it felt to not have your feelings returned let alone watching the object of your affection happy with someone else.

“Water, Joe.” Pete announced without taking his eyes off of Bonnie on the other side of the bar.

Joey thanked him and then she and Frank watched the bartender walk around the bar and stand in front of Bonnie. They couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying, but they thought that they had heard him say something that sounded like, “I’m right here!” and “I _can_ love people. Can you?”

Frank and Joey looked at each other with confusion. They had no idea that Pete and Bonnie even knew each other. But the way that they were interacting, proved that they were a lot closer than anyone had realized.

Pete had always been a great guy and they hoped that they could work everything out. Maybe it was the alcohol or wishful thinking, but the longer Joey watched them, the more perfect for each other they seemed to be.

Joey felt like they were intruding on their conversation, and nudged Frank and motioned for them to leave, but before they turned away, they saw little short Bonnie practically fly up into Pete’s arms and wrap her arms around his neck and, within seconds, the two of them were unabashedly making out while the rest of the bar broke out into loud cheers.

Frank’s head was spinning and he tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened, but burst out laughing when Joey put two fingers in her mouth and let out a loud good natured wolf whistle to show her support. She didn’t seemed bothered by any of craziness and he couldn’t have loved her more.

“Come on, Adler.” Joey announced and pulled him towards the direction of Ferg’s back room. “The pool table just opened up.”

“Aye aye, captain. You play?”

“Yup!” Joey laughed. “I can’t believe that just happened!”

“Me too. Good for them.”

“Here here!” Joey giggled as they cheersed the unexpected couple with her water and his beer bottle.

Pool was a great distraction and Frank was impressed that Joey could play as well as she did. He suspected that she would be a down right pool shark if she were completely sober.

They talked about her house and the kids and flirted with each other in between taking their shots; sometimes even during their shots. Frank felt so open, speaking about their future and making plans was so easy. They talked about future beach dates and possibly renting a boat one weekend. It was nice and easy. Joey was her happy dorky self and Frank was completely under her spell.

The whole world seemingly disappeared and they had played at least two games before Frank started to notice a table of about five men that he didn’t recognize leering at Joey everytime that she bent over the table to take her shot.

Frank tried not to let it bother him. Afterall, men had been checking Joey out ever since they had showed up that night. But there was something about that table of men that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. They had a mean menacing quality that Frank didn’t appreciate and he sensed potential trouble.

“I win!” Joey playfully cheered after she sunk her last ball.  
  
“I didn’t stand a chance did I?” Frank smirked.

“Probably not.” Joey gloated. “I’ve been playing since I was a kid. But you were a good sport, though and the best eye candy around.” Joey added with a sly smile and a wink.

“You’re lucky you’re my favourite, Kincade.”

“I am?”

Frank nodded his head with a sexy smile and Joey felt her knees go weak.

“Wanna get out of here, Adler?” Joey tried to play it cool, but she had to bite her bottom lip to keep herself from smiling too big. She couldn’t believe that she got to go home with a man like Frank. “I think I’m ready for some of your famous water.”

“You thirsty, baby?” Frank asked darkly as he looked down at her through his eyelashes.

“You have no idea.” Joey practically started panting when she felt the heat coming from his sexy blue eyes. She was getting wet and he hadn’t even touched her yet.

“You don’t have to ask me twice.” After all the flirting that they had done during the course of the night, Frank couldn’t wait to take her home. Playing pool with her was fun, but he loved that she enjoyed sex as much as he did and didn’t play games.

“You okay to drive?”

Before Frank could reassure her that he had only had a beer and a half all night, they were descended upon by the group of men that Frank had been worried about.

“We can drive you home, sweetheart.” One of the men standing way too close to Joey offered with a fake smile.

“No, guys. We have it covered.” Joey quickly stated with ice in her voice. She hated pushy self entitled guys like that. It was obvious that she was there with Frank and that she wasn’t interested in their attention. She had a bad feeling and wanted to get the hell out of there but they had them practically pinned against the pool table.

Frank wasn’t very impressed with the group of men, either, and stood up a little straighter and placed his hand on the small of Joey’s back when the pack of men kept licking their lips like she was a piece of meat. “We were just leaving, enjoy the table, fellas.”

“Why don’t you stay and play a game with us and send pretty boy home?” Another man demanded as he got into Joey’s personal space and appeared to try and smell her hair. His cologne was cheap and strong and made Joey want to gag.

“Not a chance in hell.” Joey spat out.

“No need to be such a bitch.” The man huffed.

“Back off, buddy.” Frank demanded in a low voice. “We don’t want any trouble.”

The man refused to take a hint and stood his ground and slowly looked Joey up and down as he chewed his gum loudly. Frank squared his shoulders and Joey quickly took his hand. She really didn’t want to witness Frank get into another fight, but if Mr. "Bucket of Axe Body Spray” didn’t get out of her way, she might be the one to start swinging.

 _“Of course not!”_ A different loud booming voice announced from the back of the room. “These fine gentlemen know better than to be messing around with my little sister.”

“Oh fuck!” Joey cursed and spun around to face the man that had seemingly made the other four men back off with their tails between their legs. Frank could have sworn that he heard two of the men apologize profusely before they left.

“Nice to see you again, JJ.” the stranger chuckled with a confident swagger.

“Who’s JJ?” Confused, Frank turned to Joey and noticed that all of the colour had drained from her face.

“I am.” Joey whispered.


	17. "Family"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey spend more family time together.

Joey hadn’t seen her half brother Cameron Clauson in at least fifteen years, but she would have recognized his voice anywhere. She tried to wipe the shocked look off her face and pretend that running into him again was a normal, everyday occurrence. But inside she was freaking out and she hoped that Frank hadn’t noticed that her hands had started shaking.

Cameron was two years older than her and the only one of her half siblings that her estranged father, Mitch, had had a hand in raising. Joey was embarrassed to admit that she really had no idea how many half siblings she actually had. Besides Cameron, she had only met three of them during her childhood. All from different mothers, all brothers, all handsome, and all of them desperately (and unsuccessfully) vying for their father’s attention. They had all been bad news and Jessie had kept Joey away from all of them.

But, because Cameron’s mother had a friendly relationship with Jessie, Cameron had been the only one that she'd had any kind of a brother-sister relationship with. In fact, Cameron had lived with Jessie and Joey for a short while after his mother had tragically passed away. But sadly, Joey lost contact with him after their father decided, on a whim, that he wanted to raise him instead. Joey had suspected that he'd only taken Cameron in to hurt her mother and not because he had any kind of warm and fuzzy feelings towards his son.

It had been sadly ironic that, out of all Joey’s siblings, their father had decided to raise Cameron because, back when Joey knew him, Cam had hated Mitch just as much as she had. But that was a lifetime ago and Joey had no idea where her brother stood now.

“How have you been, JJ?” Cameron smiled his bright, handsome smile. The two scantily dressed women that Cameron was at the bar with sat down at the table abandoned by the pack of men, that had been harrassing Frank and Joey, who Cameron had curtly dismissed. “The last I heard you were in Tokyo. What brings you back to this neck of the woods?”

“I’ve been good.” Joey politely smiled. She really hoped that the sweet kid she remembered was still in there somewhere and that Cameron had not succumb to their father’s lifestyle. But judging by the looks they were getting, people either respected or feared her brother and she remembered people looking at her father in the same way. “No one has called me JJ in a long time.”

“JJ?” Frank asked again as he shaked Cameron’s hand and introduced himself. “Frank Adler.” Joey had the worst poker face in the world and Frank could feel her anxiety as they stood there and chatted with her brother.

“Cameron Clauson.” he nodded and shook Frank’s hand a little harder than he should have in an attempt to prove his dominance. “JJ is what our dad has always called her. _Josephine Juliette Clauson_. JJ is a little less of a mouthful, I guess.”

“Kincade.” Joey corrected him.

“That’s right, sorry.” Cameron took a deep breath and quickly looked around Ferg’s back pool room. Joey could tell that he was actually really happy to see her but that he didn’t want to let it show to anyone that may be watching them. “Say, how is your mom doing nowadays?”

“She’s great, Cam. What brings you to Pinellas County?” Joey tried to cover her nervousness with a smile, but she was dying to know Cameron was doing there and if her father was in the mix somehow. The idea of unexpectedly bumping into Mitch made her sick to her stomach.

Joey had to remind herself to breathe and was thankful that Frank took her hand and gave it a supportive squeeze. She had done such a good job of separating herself from the other half of her family, but she felt like she was having an out of body experience as all manners of old emotions came bubbling up. She wished that she was sober enough to manage everything that she was feeling, but having Frank there with her steadied her in a way that meant more to her then she thought it would.

“You can relax, JJ. I’m just doing some scouting for the old man.” Cameron’s eyes softened when he realized how freaked out Joey was. He was used to having people fear him, but it appeared to unnerve him to count his sister among those people. “We’re opening a club and he sent me out to check out the competition in different counties. Pinellas County isn’t even on our radar.”

“Sorry, I just...I’m trying to build a life here...I didn’t mean to...” Joey stammered and tried to explain herself. Apparently, her efforts to appear calm and collective had fallen short of their mark.

She really didn’t want to offend Cameron, but he was obviously still close with their father since they were in business together. But, in reality, Cameron had never done anything to her in past. In fact, when they'd been kids, he had been the only silver lining from her father’s side of the family. Joey was conflicted and wasn’t sure how she should feel. The only thing she was sure of was that she regretted the two shots of whiskey she and Alice had taken at the bar.

“I’m happy to see you, Cam.” Joey sighed when she realized that she was treating him the same way that people treated her when they figured out who her father was. “It’s been a long time.”

“I get it. It’s okay.” Cameron sincerely smiled and, for a second, he resembled the big brother that used to sing her to sleep as a child. “He still talks about you sometimes. You play pool almost as good as he does, he’d be proud.”

“You were watching us?” Frank suspiciously asked, but Cameron ignored his observations.

“Maybe you guys could get together and play a game.” Cameron suggested to his sister. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you beat the old man. That would be hilarious.”

“Cam, I can’t...” Joey was horrified that Cameron would try and suggest such a thing. “My feelings about him haven’t changed.”

“I know.” Cameron nodded with a dark look it his eye. “Trust me, I get it. He’s not for everyone. Some of us weren’t as lucky as you were.”

“We were just heading out.” Frank announced. He was uncomfortable talking about Joey’s father and Joey didn’t look like she was enjoying the conversation any more than he was. “Thanks for that, you know, with those guys back there.”

“No problem.” Cameron flashed his big charming smile and smacked Frank’s shoulder as if they were old friends. “I’m sure you had it covered, big guy.”

There was something about Cameron’s mannerisms that reminded her of her father. He was not only handsome, like her father, but he was also charming and very much in charge of the situation and everyone knew it. It was a confidence that must have been earned doing things that Joey didn’t even want to think about.

For the sake of their childhood friendship, and the sweet boy that she had once known, Joey wished him well but, she decided that didn’t want him in her life. Cameron was dressed very well, but his expensive leather jacket couldn’t hide his bruised knuckles. He wasn’t a man that she wanted playing the role of uncle to her foster son.

“Maybe I’ll see you around sometime?” Cameron suggested and tried to lay on the charm. “Let’s not let another twelve years ago by, huh?”

“Twelve?” Joey asked. She was sure that it had been a lot longer than that.

“Yeah.” Cameron looked away and puffed out a laugh. Joey was amazed at how sweet and handsome Cam looked when it appeared as though he was reliving a pleasant memory. It was his boyish good looks that made what he did for a living with her father extremely unsettling. No one would ever suspect that a face like his would ever have bad intentions. “I didn’t get a chance to say hi, but I was there, at your graduation. I guess I got lost in all the comotion.”

“Comotion is a very polite way to describe it.” Joey huffed. Their father had managed to ruin the entire ceremony and had left her completely humiliated.

“Hey, at least he went to your graduation.” Cameron countered with a cold stare that sent a chill up her spine and reinforced her decision to keep him at arm’s length. “You’re the only one that he ever gave a shit about.”

“Cam.” Joey wasn’t sure what to say. The last thing that she ever wanted was her father’s affection, but the same couldn’t be said about her brothers. She remembered how Mitch used to pit brother against brother in a sick competition for his attention. Joey had never played that game. “I’m sorry… but he’s been shitty to all of us. Trust me.”

Joey sensed that her brother was a mixed bag and feared that any good or sweetness in him had been beaten out of him by their father. Either literally beaten out of him or metaphorically beaten out of him through years of his influence. Either way, it wasn’t her job to save him. She had Sam and Mary to think about.

 _“Cam?”_ Alice shouted from the entrance of Ferg’s back pool room. _“Oh my god! No!”_

Alice and Barry had been looking for Joey and Frank and found more than they had bargained for. Frank had never seen Alice in a state like that before. She had always been so cool and in control, but, if he didn’t know better, he’d think that she was one step away from being downright hysterical.

Poor Alice was white as a ghost and her whole body appeared to be trembling. Frank had no idea what was going, but Joey quickly jumped into action and said goodbye to Cameron and rushed over to her cousin’s side and led her out of the room.

Frank nodded to Cameron and followed the girls out, but when he noticed that Barry was too confused to move, he doubled back and grabbed Barry’s shoulder and brought him along with him.

“It’s okay. I promise. He’s not here. It was just Cam.” Joey tried to soothe her cousin in the parking lot and her efforts appeared to be slowly working.

Frank knew that something was terribly wrong, but he couldn’t help but be proud of his girl and the way that she was handling everything. Watching Joey under pressure and still able to look after the people that she cared about, made him love her more than he'd ever thought he was capable of loving anyone.

Watching her made him wonder if things would have turned out differently, months ago with his mother and the custody case, if Joey had been around back then. Maybe she would have stepped in and found some middle ground between him and his mother and been cooler under pressure than he had been.

“Shhh, sweetheart. It’s okay.” Joey kept repeating over and over again until Alice started to believe her. “I won’t let anything happen, sweetheart, it’s okay.”

The Alice that Frank remembered started to emerge when she suddenly let out a loud growl and pulled herself away from Joey's hug and shook her hands and rolled her shoulders. It looked as if she was physically trying to shake it off and toughen herself up.

“I’m okay.” Alice stated as she dried her tears. “I’m sorry. It just freaked me out.”

“Never apologize. You’re a badass.” Joey reassured her as she held her cousin’s face in her hands and lovingly looked into her eyes. “Do you want me to come home with you? Popcorn and a sleepover?”

“No. I’m tempted to take you up on it, but I’m a big girl.” Alice tried to smile away her pain.

The two men had no idea what was going on, but knew enough to let the women have their moment together. It wasn’t until Joey and Frank were halfway home from the bar that Frank had worked up enough courage to ask Joey if Alice was going to be okay.

“Yeah, I think so.” Joey sighed as she leaned over and put her head on Frank’s shoulder as he drove. “She was just worried that Mitch was going to be there too when she saw Cam. It brought up some old memories.”

“She knows your dad?”

“Unfortunately.” Joey whispered. “Mitch is a monster. He...almost let...fuck, I haven’t thought about in this in years. He almost let one of his sick friends hurt her when we were kids.”

“What. _‘Let?’_ Holy shit.” Frank didn’t want to know all of the gruesome details, but, instead, focused on the fact that Joey had used the words _“almost hurt her”_ and was thankful that nothing terrible had happened to Alice.

“My mom and I stopped it from happening. But it was still awful.” Joey confessed. “We were both ten and I didn’t see him again until he crashed my high school graduation.”

Frank gripped the steering wheel harder and didn’t know what to say. Mary was turning eight soon and he already knew that he was capable of killing a man with his bare hands if they had wished her any kind harm. A big part of him wanted to check on Mary at Roberta’s and watch her sleep, but he didn’t want to wake up the whole house and worry everyone. Besides, he knew that she was okay; Roberta would never let anything bad happen to her.

“I’m so sorry, Adler.” Joey sadly apologized when she felt the stressful place that his mind had gone. “I never wanted any of this dark shit to touch you. You’re the one person in this world that makes me feel lighter and happier...and I’m fucking it all up.”

“You’re not fucking anything up, Kincade.” Frank loved using her last name as a term of endearment even more now that he’d realized that Jessie must have given Joey her last name to try and separate Joey from her father. “I wanted to know you. The good and the bad, remember.” Frank repeated the words that Joey had said to him that night out on her mother’s porch and kissed the top of her head as he drove down their street. “And just for the record, you do the same for me every single day and I’m not willing to give you up over some asshole that you had no say in knowing.”

They drove along in silence until Joey couldn’t take it anymore. Frank meant more to her than any man had in a very long time and she needed him to know how she felt about him.

“I think I love you, Frank.” Joey whispered from his shoulder.

On one hand, Joey was still drunk enough not to consider the consequences of confessing such a thing. But on the other hand, drunk or not, her heart couldn’t let another second go without saying the words out loud. Frank not only made her feel safe and cherished but brave as well; her intentions were only honest and pure.

Frank pulled into his driveway and put his truck into park. He was thankful that he had a moment to do a quick gut check before he responded. Other women had confessed their love for him in the past and he had either cleverly danced around it or had lied to them and told them what they had wanted to hear. But, this time, it was special. This time, he knew that he didn’t have to lie or dodge the subject because he knew that he loved Joey back. The fact that she had the guts to say it first only reinforced why he had fallen in love with her in the first place.

“You think?” Frank asked to the steering wheel and cleared his throat when he felt too much emotion building up inside him. “You think you love me? Well that kinda sucks because I’ve been in love with you for awhile now, Josephine.”

Frank had never used her full name before and for a second Joey was stone cold sober. She could tell that he meant it; he was in love with her. Joey licked her lips and peeked up at him from his shoulder and watched him clench his jaw as he waited for her to answer him.

“Is it okay if I love you?” Joey carefully asked and smiled when Frank puffed out a soft laugh.

“Is it okay?” Frank repeated with a chuckle and looked down at her on his shoulder. “Yes, dummy. It’s okay.”

“Well, then, I love you, dummy.” Joey giggled. “I love you so damn much.”

Frank smiled and unfastened his seatbelt to wrap his arm around her and laughed when she jumped up and rubbed her nose against his. Joey was happy and it filled his heart with a kind a joy that he hadn’t known was possible before her.

“You love me!” Joey smiled against his lips.

“Grab your bag, pretty lady.” Frank whispered against her lips. “I wanna show you just how much.”

\-------------------

Frank and Joey had a hard time keeping their hands off each other as they walked up the path to Frank’s house. He was sure that they were putting on quite a show for his neighbours, but Frank didn’t care. Joey was his girl and he wanted the whole world to know how in love he was.

The obnoxious truck that squealed its tires when Joey wrapped her arms around his neck and passionately kissed him couldn’t change his mood or embarass him. In fact, Frank found it odd that he couldn't summon a single cynical thought that night.

He kissed Joey back and matched her passion and let her cuddle him all the way to his door with zero ego. All he felt was his love for her and gratitude for her drunken bravery. Now he didn’t have to hold back and he found the new sensation so freeing.

 _Why couldn’t he be in love,_ he asked himself. In the past, he never thought that he was capable of such a thing. What an idiot he had been.

Frank took his keys out of his pocket and, in his excitement, he dropped them on the ground but instead of picking them up he pressed Joey against his door and kissed her lips and down the side of her neck. The way she ran her fingers through his hair excited him in such an intense way; he just couldn’t get enough of her or how she could make him feel.

“Look at you.” Frank hummed as he held her face in his hands and studied it. “You’re so fucking beautiful. What are you doing with a guy like me, huh?”

“Quit butterin’ me up, Adler.” Joey giggled as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him flush against her. “You know I’m only with you for your cats.”

Frank barked out a loud laugh and quickly picked his keys off the ground and tried to open his door with Joey’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

They playfully walked into his house together joined as one and tried not to trip over each other’s feet. It was nice to laugh and giggle together and Frank found himself loving who he was when he was with her.

Frank took her overnight bag from her as he closed the door and heard the cats scatter when he tossed it, not caring where it landed on the ground, and he went back to kissing Joey.

Einstein hissed and let out a loud growl at them and Frank quickly explained against her lips that he was going to ask Roberta if she wanted to adopt the ill mannered cat since the only person that he seemed to tolerate was Roberta. Joey had a one track mind and barely heard a word he said. Her only focus was kissing him and trying to express just how much she wanted him.

Their walk into his living room was a chaotic mixture of tongues and teeth and groping hands; their desire for each other was building with every passing second. Feeling Joey smile while she kissed him, filled Frank’s heart with so much satisfaction. He loved her; of this, he had no doubt. Her happiness meant everything to him and knowing that he was causing that happiness was a feeling that he couldn’t put into words.

“You can take it back, you know.” Joey tried to explain through her panted breaths as Frank kissed and sucked down the side of her neck again. “It’s okay. I won’t be mad. I didn’t tell you that I loved you because I was trying to get you to say it back.”

“I love you, Joe.” Frank declared with a big bright smile on his face. His heart was beating so hard it felt as though it could break free from his chest at any moment. They were both wearing far too much clothing for his liking, but he enjoyed having all of his feelings out in the open for the first time in his life and he wanted to take the time to have her understand him. “I think I’ve loved you for awhile now, I was just too much of a coward to say anything.”

“Are you sure? I’m drunk and totally forgot that I wasn’t supposed to rush you. I’m the worst girlfriend ever!” she laughed.

“You’re so damn cute.” Frank grinned as he held her head and looked into her eyes. “I’ve never been more sure about anything. And trust me, that’s a big deal for me. But you...I’m totally sure and for the first time and I’m not just sitting on the fence and letting things happen. Wait, did you want to take it back? Did you mean it? Was it a drunk thing?”

“No, baby.”Joey shook her head and quickly kissed his lips again when he began to look scared that she had changed her mind. “I’m sure, too. I’m so sure about you and about us. I’ve waited so long to feel like this. I really wanted to fall in love with Kev-...nevermind.” Joey giggled. Now was not the time to bring up her ex, so she stopped herself but Frank smiled and understood what she had meant. “It’s just so easy to love you, Frank. I can’t help but think...these last seven years...all I had to do to feel this way would have been to come home and look across the damn street.”

“You’re here now, that’s all that matters, Joe.” Frank kissed her forehead twice and felt a wave of relief wash over him. “Besides, if you had come home any earlier you wouldn’t have introduced me to my new fishing buddy.”

“I’ll never want to take it back, Frank.” Joey assured him again with happy tears in her eyes. She had no idea that loving a man that also loved her son would be such an intense feeling. Frank couldn’t hide his feelings for Sam and it made her want to cry. “The only person that I might love more is Mary and that’s because she reminds me so much of you...only slightly more badass.”

“Can’t win ‘em all I guess. She blows me out of the water in the badass department.” Frank dryly joked. “Funny, I used to think that she stopped me from getting lucky. Maybe I was going about it all wrong.”

“You were, because she’s amazing.” Joey beamed.

They both stopped grinning at each other when they heard a series of loud meows and looked down to see both Fred and Bob circling around Joey’s legs and rubbing themselves against her. Their reaction to Frank’s visitor was the mirror opposite to Einstein’s.

“Back off, guys. She’s mine.” Frank playfully threatened as he saved her from their affection and pulled her towards his bedroom while she giggled and promised the cats that she would play with them after she was done rocking Frank’s world.

\-----------------------------------------

“Wow. I can’t believe you can do that!” Frank laughed as he tried to catch his breath. He rolled over onto his back, pulling his condom off and throwing it in the wastepaper basket by his bed and tried to stop his heart from beating so fast.

He was getting old; he felt as though he had just ran a marathon. A very, very, satisfying marathon that he wanted to run again before the night was through. If he was going to date a woman like Joey,he needed to start working out, Frank decided. He could barely keep up with her.

“What? Oh, the condom thing? I’ve always wanted to try it.” Joey was still laying on her stomach, but turned her head towards him and smiled at him as he blissfully stared up at the ceiling. He was so handsome, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. “I think I saw it in a porno once and I thought it was neat.”

Joey still felt the peaceful glowly aftereffects of her orgasm flowing through her body and was starting to get jealous of couples that got to indulge their feelings for each other every night and didn’t have to wait till the weekend. She was still very much addicted to Frank Adler and wasn’t interested in resisting it.

“Neat?” Frank chuckled. “Yes, putting a condom on with your mouth is very _neat_ … In fact, you’re pretty neat yourself, Kincade.”

Frank turned over on his side and ran his hand up Joey’s naked back. Sex with her was such a powerful yet fun experience and she was quickly ruining him for other women. But, as he looked down into her big blue eyes, he figured that was sorta the point and he was perfectly okay with that. He loved how her big and blue her eyes were and how they appeared to glow in the dark, he was completely under her spell. Frank had no idea that love had the power to heal him in such a profound way.

“Is it bad that I still want you?” Joey whispered then let out a small moan when he went from lightly rubbing her back to purposefully massaging away any knots he found in her back. His hands were magic as far as she was concerned and it didn’t matter that he had just made her come twice in the last 45 minutes, she still relished the feeling of them on her body.

“You’re gunna kill me.” Frank teased as he leaned over and kissed her bare shoulder. “Wait...was that good for you? I thought-”

“It was amazing for me, silly; you were there. I’m just greedy.” Joey giggled and let out a low sigh when Frank pressed his lips against the back of her shoulder again.

“Ah, I see.”

“Wouldn’t it be great to spend the whole weekend in bed and only put on clothes to pay for takeout?” Joey wistfully dreamed out loud with a big grin on her face.

“Heaven.”

“I’d miss the kids though. I’ve totally turned into one of those moms that can’t go a day without seeing their kid.”

“I’d miss the kids, too, you’re not alone.” Frank liked this game. Envisioning fantasies with Joey made Frank feel like a kid again. “Maybe just a long naked Saturday morning where we can bang each other’s brains out in peace.”

“Then take the kids out for brunch!” Joey happily added. “Bang...how romantic.” she mocked as she turned over on her side and cuddled up against his side.

“Hey!” Frank scoffed and pretended to sound offended. “I’ll have you know that banging you is very romantic!”

They laid there in silence for afew minutes and listened to the sounds of their breathing and the distance sound of a cat playing with a ping pong ball somewhere in the house. They were both so content to be naked and wrapped up in each other. Joey drew small figure eights on his chest with her fingertip and Frank ran his fingers up and down her arm. The longer they stayed like that in the dark, the longer they felt like they were one person. It was an intimacy that Frank had never known before. Being with Joey was so perfect.

“Will it always feel like this?” Frank asked into the dark.

“Feel like what?”

“Will it always feel perfect like this.”

“Nope.” Joey smiled and placed a kiss on his chest. “I’ll do something to piss you off and you’ll hate me for awhile.”

“What?” Frank chuckled. “Geez. Buzz kill much?”

“It’ll happen, trust me. Or you’ll do something that will make me want to plot your murder. It’s bound to happen eventually.”

“Just lie to me, Joe.” Frank sighed and wrapped his arms around her a little tighter, he didn’t want to think about that ever happening.

“I’ll never lie to you, Frank.” Joey avowed. “We haven’t even had our first fight yet. It’s bound to happen. That’s life. But it’s what happens after that matters.”

“After? What, after you get away with my murder?” Frank teased.

“I promise it’ll never get that far.” Joey playfully sung out as she propped her head up on her arm and looked down at him. He really knew nothing about relationships but he couldn’t have been cuter in his desire to have a perfect one with her, but she still felt the need to prepare him for the inevitable.

“I dunno about that.” Frank sighed and shook his head as he mocked her. “I’ve had a lot of experience pissing off women. Maybe you should get that alibi all sorta out.”

“Well...I’m pretty sure that I’m not like most of other women you’ve messed around with.”

“Hell ya.” Frank agreed as he cupped her bare breast in his hand and ran his thumb across her nipple.

“Greedy boy.” Joey purred as she enjoyed his touch. “But that’s not what I meant. We have something good, something real.” She couldn’t help but moan when he touched her like that, but she tried to finish her thought. “I dunno about you, but it’s our realness that’s makes what I feel for you different from the other people I’ve dated.”

“True. What are we supposed to do then? How do we keep things perfect like this? Or more importantly, how do I keep breathing?” Frank let go of her breast in order to get an answer. He loved that she was so easy to turn on, but he could tell that he was distracting her.

“Remember this, I guess.” Joey shrugged. “I’m not an expert, but I plan on taking a mental picture of your handsome face looking up at me right now. I want to remember tonight and remember how I feel about you. Remember what we mean to each other. I hope that it’ll remind me that underneath all of the frustration and murderous impulses, that we love each other and that we’re worth fighting for.” Joey explained.

“Sounds like a plan, I guess.” Frank gave her his shy boyish smile and hoped that it would never come to that, but a part of him knew that it was inevitable that they would hit a rough patch eventually. Maybe taking a mental picture of the way that he currently felt was a good idea.

“This is just the schmoopy honeymoon part. It’s fun, but I want more with you, Frank. I wanna go through the hard stuff, too.”

“You think we’ll make it?”

“I do. But it’s bound to get messy at some point, but I think you’re the person that I wanna try to make it work with.” Joey wasn’t sure why she was blushing but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She was so happy. Never in her life had all of the pieces seem to fall together so effortlessly; but she figured that that was what was supposed to happen when you met the right person.

Love had never come to her so quickly before. Frank definitely wasn’t the center of her world, that honor appeared to have fallen to her foster son, but Frank was such an unexpected bonus. In that past, she had assumed that a such a whirlwind romance would surely fizzle out and end in disaster. But something told her that wouldn’t be their fate. Joey felt grounded in their truth and was confident that she wanted to fight for their future together. She almost felt like a grown up.

They continued to talk over how things could go wrong and had a good laugh at their conflict resolution styles and vowed to love each other through any future blow ups. They tried to brainstorm and come up with any potential problems that could cause a major fight in the future but were pleasantly surprised at how well matched they were, that was, until Joey came up with a situation that Frank hadn’t really considered.

“Do you want kids one day?” Joey asked him. “I mean, you’re essentially already a dad to Mary. But did you want any little Franks running around one day?”

“I don’t know. I don't think so.” Frank considered out loud. “I mean, I didn’t really get a chance to choose when I got Mary, you know? She was so damn cute, but babies are so fucking hard.” He sighed and remembered all of the middle of the night feedings and the mountains of diapers. It hadn't been all bad, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do all over again, but maybe having someone to share the workload with wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. “Do you want another kid?”

“I don’t know, to be honest...Before Sam it was always a strong ‘no.’ But now?..... _maybe?_ ” Joey scrunched up her face as she considered it. “But it’s not a deal breaker, though. Pregnancy has always scared the crap outta me. I always felt like it was something out of Alien.”

“I think you’d have a much cuter baby then whatever busted outta that guy’s chest, Joe.” Frank chuckled.

“Before Sam, I didn’t want kids at all...but I kinda like being a mom. At least I really like being his mom.”

“Sam’s the coolest.” Frank added with a proud grin.

“But another baby?” Joey suddenly started to get freaked out and excited about the idea at the same time. She was so conflicted and wasn’t sure what she wanted. “I guess if I unexpectedly got pregnant I’d probably keep it… I think.”

“We can raincheck it, Joe.” Frank chuckled at the cute faces she was making as she tried to figure out an answer to her own question. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s evolving, huh?”

“It’s all just so new to me. I don’t know how I feel yet.” Joey confessed.

“You don’t need to have everything figured out right this second. We’ll figure it out together. Come ‘er.”

Frank pulled her down to his lips and groan when she deepened their kiss and flicked her tongue cross the corner of his mouth.

“Round two?” he breathlessly asked. It almost sounded as if he were begging for another go instead of asking her if that was her intention.

Instead of answering him, Joey ran her hand down all the way down his chest and stomach and took ahold of his hardening length and stroked him slowly. She needed him badly, he was just too perfect.

After she had used her mouth to tease him, Joey used her condom trick again then got on top and rode him slowly until the two of them fell apart and held on to each other tight as they came within moments of each other. Their night together was perfection as far as each of them were concerned and the two of them ended up having the best sleep of their lives as they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

\---------------------------------------------------------

That weekend, Frank and Joey took Mary and Sam to a small carnival that was passing through Pinellas County. Joey sold it as a fun double date, but the more that the four of them hung out the more Frank felt like they were one big family.

Sam pretty much ignored Joey when Frank was around, unless he needed something specific or if he got hurt. When they'd first arrived, Sam had gotten too excited, tripped over his own feet and had gone straight to his mom for comfort. Otherwise, Frank was the little boy’s hero and never let go of his hand.

Frank didn’t mind in the slightest. Mary had matured so quickly, it was nice to be around Sam and care for him the way he used to with his niece back in the day. Besides, by hanging out with Sam, Frank got a front row seat to the wild and crazy antics of Joey and Mary. The two of them were really something else. When the two of them were together, their girlie energy was like lightning in a bottle sometimes.

His girls went on every ride that Mary was big enough to ride on at least twice and screamed their lungs out the whole time. Frank was grateful that Sam was more interested in sitting on top of his shoulders and eating his cotton candy then going on rides, because just watching Mary and Joey gave Frank motion sickness.

Frank and Sam would run into the girls every once and Joey would goof around and bear hug him like a little kid on a sugar high. It was nice to be affectionate around the kids without second guessing things and it was impossible for Frank not to be a good mood when Joey was around and being her silly self. She had such an amazing way of not only bringing out the best in him, but the best in Mary as well. Mary hadn’t brought up her school work once the whole night; her only focus was on having fun and Joey was making it her mission to make sure that Mary had the time of her life.

All Frank ever wanted was for Mary to be a kid and to have a normal childhood and, the more time that she spent with Joey, the more his wish became a reality. Joey knew that Mary was special, but she treated her like she would have any other kid and never seemed to be phased by Mary’s advanced intelligence. The two of them had developed such a cute shorthand with each other in such a short time. Frank loved watching them together and how cuddly they were. In fact, Mary seemed to crawl all over Joey just as much as she did with him.

Frank made a mental note to ask Joey for copies of some of the pictures and selfies that Joey had taken that night with everyone, since every time that she took her phone out happiness seemed to radiate from her. There was something about watching her take pictures that had Frank feeling that photography was Joey’s true passion and that she had downplayed its importance in her life.

Over the course of the evening, Frank and Sam went off and did their own thing. Frank found it nice to have some money in his pocket, thanks to his new steady employment, and took the opportunity to spoil Sam with candy and popcorn and won him a little stuffed elephant at the balloon pop game. Well, correction; Frank had actually won him a the large Wolverine grand prize but Sam insisted that he wanted the smaller elephant instead.

Frank begrudgingly exchanged the prize for the less valuable one, but once he saw how happy the little guy was with his elephant, Frank felt ten feet tall. Joey wasn’t lying that day on the beach when she said Sam was a big animal lover. Frank loved getting to know Sam better, but it was getting late and he was wondering where the girls were.

He looked around and spotted Joey in the crowd making her way over to him with Mary in her arms. Joey looked miserable so Frank picked up Sam and his elephant and rushed to her side.

The closer he got, the greener Joey looked, and Frank figured that all of the rides and junkfood had finally caught up with them.

“Wanna call it a night?” Frank sympathetically smiled with Sam sitting on his hip.

“Drive slow,” was all that Joey could say before she turned her head and almost threw up.

Poor Mary moaned an apology from Joey’s shoulder and Frank brushed the hair from Mary’s face to see if she was okay.

“You okay, kiddo?” Frank asked as Sam reached over and loving stroked Mary’s hair with concern and offered her his elephant, which she took with a sweet smile. Sam was so thrilled to have helped Mary in a small way; his heart was so big.

“I threw up on her shoes.” Mary mumbled with her cheek squished against Joey’s shoulder. “I couldn’t help it.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Joey tried to reassure her, but sounded as if she were groaning her words. “They’re old shoes, I understand.”

Frank looked down at Joey’s ruined sneakers and winced and then gave Mary the same sympathetic smile that he had given Joey. At that point, Frank wished that he had the strength to carry everyone back to the truck but settled for putting Sam down on his feet and taking Mary from Joey. He only hoped that Mary didn’t puke down his back before they got to the parking lot.

Joey threw her old sneakers in the trash before she climbed into the truck and Sam smiled up at Frank when Mary and Joey fell asleep and practically collapsed against each other during the ride home.

“You up for a sleepover, Sam I am?” Frank asked the nearly four year old as he drove. Joey looked terrible and Frank couldn't stand the idea of just dropping her off at home and taking off. He felt little guilty for buying them so many ride tickets in the first place.

Sam happily nodded his little head and, when they got to his place, Frank took him inside and changed him into one of Mary’s old t shirts and made a little bed for him and his new elephant on the couch and went back outside to wake up Joey and Mary.

To his surprise, Joey had already woken up and was carrying a sleeping Mary into the house and refused Frank's help when he offered. All Joey wanted to do was sleep. She was so groggy and in her own world that she was barely able to nod her head when Frank explained his sleepover idea.

Frank stood in his living room puzzled for a moment or two as he looked down at Joey and Mary sleeping together in Mary’s little twin bed. Frank had assumed that Joey would crash with him his room, but she was so out of it, that she laid down on the nearest bed (which was Mary’s) and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. They looked adorable together with Joey spooning Mary close to her as if she were trying to protect the little girl from getting sick again. He looked behind him and Sam was fast asleep as well on the couch with Fred and Bob curled up at the little boy’s feet.

“Night guys.” Frank whispered to himself before he did his rounds and kissed everyone’s forehead and went to bed alone.

From his bedroom window, Frank noticed a strange truck parked outside his house, but when he tried to get a better look at it, it sped away. He was too tired to figure out where he had seen the truck before and, as he crashed into his bed, the mysterious truck had been forgotten almost as fast as it had been noticed.

The next day, Frank woke up to the sounds of laughter and the smell of fresh coffee and bacon. The girls must have been feeling better and he loved that Joey was making herself at home in his house and that she had cooked a decent breakfast for the kids. Since his pancake tutorial, Mary had been loving having more than just cereal every morning.

Frank rolled over onto his back and listened to Mary explain the importance of proper nutrition to Sam while the little boy goaded her and kept playfully saying _“Coco Puffs!”_ after everything that she said. Frank loved the way that Sam would always laugh at his own jokes and, after a while, Coco Puffs became its own punchline and Mary started to giggle along with him.

The smile on Frank’s face grew wider when he heard Joey tell Sam that he was going to turn into a Coco Puff followed by the sounds of giggles and and the little boy yelling, “Stap, Mary! Stap or I tickle YOU!”

They sounded just like him and Diane had when they'd been kids, Frank thought to himself. Remembering his childhood with his sister used to be painful, but not this time. Even though he had been older than Diane, because she was so advanced for her age, she would usually take on a more mothering role with him. Evelyn used to hate their relationship and considered him a distraction to Diane’s studies, but, looking back, the way that Diane had cared for him had humanized her and, in the end, Diane’s patience with him when they were little had been his favorite thing about her. Frank smiled to himself and hoped that Mary would follow in her footsteps where Sam was concerned.

He missed his sister his so much, but having Mary remind him of good times with Diane had Frank feeling closer to his sister and he enjoyed the trip down memory lane.

Before Frank could pry himself out of bed and join in on the fun, the door to his bedroom opened and, to his surprise, the three of them presented him with breakfast in bed for the first time in his life. Frank had to admit, having a full house felt good. He didn’t even mind the burned toast that Sam had made for him.

Later that day, Mrs. Barker, a music teacher from Howard Middle School came by Joey’s house and took a look at Ed’s old piano and within a few hours had it repaired and tuned and ready to go. Mary was beyond ecstatic when Joey broke the news and told her that she could use it whenever she liked and that she had already bought beginners sheet music for her.

The gesture meant so much to Mary, that Frank almost wished that he had paid the lady for her time himself. It was like Joey had just given Mary a birthday, a Christmas morning, and maybe three Easters all rolled into one.

Having Joey beam with pride and hold his hand as they watched Mary dance around the otherwise empty living room made Frank fall in love with Joey all over again. Frank loved so many different sides of her, but witnessing how much she loved Mary and Sam was quickly becoming his favourite side. Sharing these happy family moments meant so much to him, he couldn’t help but smile and squeeze her hand back. She was thinking the same thing and was about to kiss him, but got pulled into a silly cheer that Mary had made up about Fred learning how to play the piano.

That week, Joey and Sam moved into their house. Frank didn’t get an opportunity to help as much he had wanted to because, while he was at work, Alice had enlisted the help of just about every man between the ages of 25 to 30 years old in Pinellas County.

By the time that Frank had gotten off work, most of the work had been done and Joey’s living room actually looked sorta livable. He was impressed with Joey’s eclectic taste and the huge vinyl record collection that she had. As it turned out, most of them had been Ed’s that she had rescued in the same manner as his old piano.

But Frank was surprised that Joey had so much furniture. Granted, she still had to buy a few more pieces, but Frank had assumed that because she had spent the majority of her adult life traveling, that she wouldn’t have all that she did. He especially liked the leather Eames style lounge chair and the reclaimed wood coffee table. His dean at the university had had something similar in his office back in Boston. He shouldn’t have been so surprised though, his girl was the coolest. Much cooler than he was. Of course she would have had good taste in furniture.

“Ummmm….” Joey chewed on the inside of her cheek when Frank asked her where she had found the lounge chair. “Well, most of this stuff isn’t mine. When Kevin left, he pretty much just took his clothes. So I basically took what I wanted and a mutual friend is saving the rest for him if he ever shows up again.”

Frank hated talking about Sam’s father and quickly changed the topic to the kids upcoming birthday party. They couldn’t say much since Mary was already banging away on the piano and Sam was running around playing with his newly rediscovered toys that Joey had unpacked for him.

Unfortunately, Joey had no new information to update him with. Her mother insisted that she had everything covered and Joey had been so busy with the move and work that she had been happy to let Jessie take full control over the event. But Joey assured him that if her mother had her way, the event was going to be epic.

“That truck again.” Frank huffed when he looked out of Joey’s front window.

It was the same truck that Frank had seen outside his house the other night after the carnival and, once he got a better look at it, he realized that it was also the obnoxious truck that sped away and screeched its tires when he had been making out with Joey after their date at Ferg’s.

“Again? What do you mean?”

“I think I saw it when we got home from Ferg’s the other night, and then again when we got home from the carnival. It just lurks around. It’s a pretty nice truck though, it definitely doesn't belong to anyone here.”

“Oh fuck.” Joey went pale and ran towards the window to try and get a better look at the driver, but a part of her already knew who it could be. “That truck was in the parking lot at the carnival, too. Cam must have sold me out... _motherfucker._ ” She muttered under her breath.

“What?” Frank still had no idea what was going on; he’d never seen Joey so angry before.

“My father must know that I’m in town.”


	18. "Home"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey settles into her new house and Frank bonds with his new boss.

Frank was trying to keep his temper in check as he dug through a box in Joey’s kitchen trying to find her stovetop espresso maker. Mary was still banging away on the piano and, for as happy as it made her, Frank remembered all of the reasons why he'd refused to buy her one in the first place. He started to wonder if Joey had any Advil laying around that could take the edge off his growing headache.

The mysterious truck had long since driven away without anyone getting a good look at the driver. Once Joey called her mom, speculation ran rampant between mother and daughter. Especially when they noted that the truck had only driven away as Jessie had stepped outside to make her way over to Joey’s house after Joey had called her to warn her. Therefore, the consensus between the Kincade women was that Jessie had scared whoever it was away when she'd made her presence known.

Joey and Jessie were sure that whoever was lurking around was involved with Mitch Clauson in some way, if it hadn't been him himself, but Frank didn’t want to jump to conclusions. But, in all honesty, Frank knew nothing about the man and figured that Joey and Jessie knew more about the situation that he did.

The three of them had stood out on the porch and discussed the mysterious truck to try and keep as much drama as they could away from the kids. Hearing Jessie quickly summarize all of the terrible things her ex had done in the past made Frank so angry that fear had flashed behind Joey’s eyes for a second and she had, instinctively, grabbed his hand to try and calm him down.

He hated that Joey had picked up on his temper, but Frank had been particularly upset upon learning how Joey’s dad had tried to launder money through Jessie’s rental units in the past and the lengths that Jessie had to go through to keep him away from her and her daughter. Knowing that that man had any connection to Joey and Sam was unsettling, to say the least, but he needed to settle down. He didn’t want to be one of those men whose girlfriend had to worry about them flying off the handle all the time; he was still ashamed that their first date had ended in him getting into a fist fight.

It was interesting for Frank to witness Joey put on a brave face for her mother and attempt to hide the way she was feeling. Frank had held Joey and had felt her shaking, just moments before her mother had walked through the door. He knew that Joey was a mess inside, but once Jessie had arrived, Joey had refused to let her mother see her vulnerable and scared.

For as well as Frank knew Joey, he was still learning so much about the woman he loved. He started to hate the dignified look Joey wore on her face to hide her pain. It was a beautiful mask, but he knew what lay underneath it. On one hand, he felt honored that Joey had let him comfort her, but on the other hand, he knew that Jessie would be able to comfort Joey too if she would just let her. Sometimes Joey was too strong for her own good.

Wanting to keep busy, Frank had offered to make some coffee while the two women went inside and sat on the couch to try and make sense of everything. You would think, with all of the family drama that he had gone through over the years with his own family, all of this messy business with Joey’s father would feel somewhat normal to him. Usually, when his family was feuding or upset with him, he would be able to shut a side of him off in order to save himself from getting too hurt. But that wasn’t the case this time.

This time, it wasn’t just petty passive aggressive infighting and bitter reminders that he had failed to live up to his mother’s unattainable standards. It wasn’t resentment and blame over his sister’s suicide and Evelyn turning her back on Diane when she'd become pregnant. This time, it was about the woman he loved and a man that he wanted nowhere near her.

Dealing with shadow of Joey’s father made Frank feel worse, for some reason. This time, it wasn’t his heart that he was trying to protect, it was Joey’s and that fact made him feel helpless. Everything was completely out of his hands and he had no idea how to help. So coffee it was and, so help him, he was going to make the best pot of coffee that he had ever made in life.

 _This can’t be happening,_ Joey thought to herself as she held her mother’s hand while she sat on her couch and looked around her new living room. Just moments ago, Joey had been unpacking and decorating her house. Her heart had been fill with so much hope for her future and now she suddenly felt the weight of years of emotions that she had tried to suppress. She tried to reassure her mother that, if her father decided to pop back into her life, she didn’t have to worry.

“It’s okay, Ma. If he decides to actually show his face, I will handle everything.

“You will do no such thing, Josephine.” Jessie snapped. “That man is my problem.”

Joey took a deep breath and let her mother say what she needed to say, but in the end, Joey knew that Mitch was her problem as well; especially now that she had a family of her own to consider.

The adrenaline she’d felt when Frank had initially spotting the truck was still pumping through Joey’s veins and she knew that she had to protect the people that she loved from the monster that was her biological father. There was no conflicting emotions. Joey wasn’t harboring any warm and fuzzy feelings of a future reconciliation between her and her long lost dad. She was not flattered by the attention like her half brothers would have been.

Her only focus was how she could keep Mitch away from Frank and the kids. Just the thought of Alice having to relive any more traumatic childhood memories broke her heart. She’d walk through fire for her cousin and knew the feeling was mutual.

“Look, if he ever actually shows his face then I’ll tell him to leave. Simple as that.” Joey sighed and kept a watchful eye on Mary at the piano. Mary was sure to pick up on what was going on eventually, but Joey wanted to spare her for as long as she could.

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Well, that’s what restraining orders are for.” Joey quietly insisted; careful that Mary wouldn’t overhear. “I never should have told Cam that I was trying to start a life here. This is all my fault.”

“Cam was such a sweet boy.” Jessie sadly smiled as Gus tried to comfort her by putting his head in her lap. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I haven’t thought about him and hoped that he was okay. But this isn’t your fault, sweetheart. The both of you were born into a terrible situation.”

A part of Joey knew that her mother was right. No one should be put in a situation where they had to divide their loyalties between their sister and their father. But she still felt betrayed and wasn’t ready to let Cameron off the hook.

Just then, Mary let out a sharp frustrated growl and slammed her hands down on the piano keys. The ruckus made everyone jump and sent Gus running into the kitchen to be with Frank.

 _“Hey!”_ Frank chastised from the kitchen. _“What gives? You’re scaring the dog.”_

“Mary’s just punk rock, Frank.” Joey called out to him and pushed herself off the couch to see if she could help the little girl. Joey suspected, based on the senseless notes that Mary had been producing for the past 20 minutes, that Mary was getting frustrated that she wasn’t Beethoven or Mozart already.

Frank heard Mary and Joey talking while he unpacked a box of dishes, looking for coffee mugs. Joey had a way of getting through to his niece so he knew that she was in good hands. When that cardboard box proved fruitless, he moved on to another box. He figured that he’d rather be unpacking Joey’s housewares for her than dealing with Mary’s attitude anyway. That was until Frank heard “chopsticks” playing on the piano and Sam giggling and cheering.

Frank peeked his head out of the kitchen doorway and watched as Mary sat in between Joey and Jessie on the piano bench. The women were laughing and messing up, as well, while they tried to remember the notes of the simple song and challenged each other to play faster. The faster they went, the more Mary happily bounced between them on the bench.

Even though Joey and Jessie were both stressed out about Mitch and Camron, they put their feelings aside and focused on Mary when she needed them. Those Kincade women continued to impress Frank more and more every day. Because of their attention, Mary’s mood had completely changed on a dime.

Frank watched as Jessie playfully conceded her defeat and wrapped her arms around Mary’s waist and kissed the top of her head with a loud laugh. Joey slowed down and encouraged Mary not to give up and to try again. Mary couldn’t help but to be affected by all of the positivity and love in the room and, in no time at all, Mary had jumped right back in and was giving it her all.

Not only was Mary being a kid, but Frank was witnessing her have the kind of relationships that every girl deserved to have. Mary fit right in with the Kincades and little Sam was cheering Mary on while Joey jokingly called him a traitor for not cheering for her.

But what really floored Frank was Joey’s mom. Jessie looked as though her heart were seconds away from bursting with pride when Mary started to understand the notes.

Frank wished that Evelyn could look at Mary that way without having ulterior motives. He was sure that Evelyn loved Mary in her own way, but he always noticed those opportunistic wheels turning in her head. He wished that Evelyn could just love Mary for who she was and not see her as her “do over” after Diane.

Maybe he was being too hard on his mother, Frank considered. In her defence, Evelyn hadn’t fought him when he had finally stood up to her and had taken Mary home. She could have called his bluff and ignored Diane’s theory and made Mary’s life miserable. Instead, she had wished them well and ended up keeping in touch more often than he'd thought she would.

Evelyn had been known to call Mary over Skype and check in, but they mostly talked about school or Diane’s theory. Frank would try and make himself scarce so that he wouldn’t have to talk to his mother more than he had to. There was a budding relationship growing between Mary and Evelyn, but Frank wasn’t sure how much of it focused solely on academics.

Either way, it was nice to see Mary with Joey and her mother. Jessie had always been close with Mary because of Roberta, but ever since Frank had started dating Joey, the two of them had only gotten closer. Frank hoped that Mary could have a real grandmother, and was cautiously optimistic that Evelyn might be able to fit the role one day. But even if she never did, Frank was watching Jessie open her heart to Mary in the same way that she’d opened it to Sam. Frank stood there in doorway to Joey’s kitchen and became confident that his niece wasn’t going to miss out on a damn thing.

If was profoundly fitting that Mary was getting a chance to play the piano with Joey and Jessie, Frank happily mused to himself. Frank had chosen Mary’s foster family, in part, because they had beautiful grand piano and seemed like the kind of people that would have encouraged Mary to learn how to play it. Unfortunately, that hadn’t been the case. Even Evelyn hadn’t given Mary a chance to play on hers when Mary had visited her in Boston. Maybe this was the way that it should have been all along.

Frank left the girls alone and called Sam into the kitchen when he found a box with a few random coffee mugs. He sat the little boy on the counter and taught him how to make a perfect pot of coffee. Sam listened carefully with wide eyes and Frank chuckled at him and messed up his hair to get him to lighten up a bit.

Once they were done, Sam was thrilled to be responsible for bringing Joey her coffee and followed closely behind Frank. The piano lesson had ended and Frank handled Jessie her mug and Sam placed Joey’s on the coffee table since her and Mary were wrestling/play fighting on the couch. Joey was on her back letting Mary win and crawl all over her and it wasn’t long before Sam joined in on the fun, too.

“No fair! Two against one!” Joey squealed as they tickled her. “That’s it, I give up! You win. I’m simply no match for the two of you.”

Mary and Sam high fived each other and, as soon as they finished celebrating their win and let their guard down, Joey shot up and roared loudly. She scooped them both up into her arms and yelled “PSYCH!” as she tickled both of them the best that she could as they fought back and screamed.

Even though the majority of Joe’s things hadn’t been unpacked, Frank started to love being in Joey’s home. Whether it was the annoying sounds of Mary learning to play the piano or listening to the kids giggle or laugh, Joey’s house was already filled with so much life. It was almost as if Frank had been asleep for a lifetime and had finally woken up.

Frank sat in Joey’s fancy lounge chair with Gus’s head in his lap and watched her cuddle with Mary on the couch, after their tickle war had come to draw. He tried to enjoy his coffee, but he couldn’t stop smiling, especially when Sam crawled into his lap and showed him and Gus his little alligator toy. Frank ending up asking him if he wanted to go fishing with him one day on a real boat. Sam’s reaction made Frank feel like he was the little boy’s hero. Even Jessie seemed to notice how happy Frank was and winked at him before she said goodbye and left to meet with her bridge club.

The four of them decided to order pizza before Roberta stopped by for a few minutes with a housewarming gift and a small present for Sam. Afterwards, the four of them comfortably hung out together as if they had been a family for their whole lives. Frank got Joey’s television hooked up and watched UFC with Sam while Mary worked on her laptop and Joey continued to unpack and get their bedrooms somewhat ready for their first night in their new home.

Joey found a great place to put the houseplant that Roberta had given her and she was starting to feel like a grown up who actually had their shit together. She looked over to Frank and Sam who were cuddled up on the couch watching UFC and making up their own silly commentary. She couldn’t help but love just simply having all of them under the same roof. She was still worried about Cam and her father, but she tried to focus on all that was going right in her life. Frank was such a calming influence on her and he kept her from overreacting and overthinking things.

The truth was she didn’t want a relationship with that side of her family. They could stalk her all they wanted, but it wasn’t going to change a damn thing. But if either one of them approached any member of her family, especially Alice, she wouldn’t hesitate to call the police.

She should have moved home ages ago, she thought to herself as Sam laid on top of Frank and cuddled up against his chest when he got sleepy. This was the life that she wanted and she would fight like hell to keep it.

Frank and Joey finally got a short moment to themselves that evening when Mary abruptly put her laptop away and insisted that she wanted to read Sam his bedtime story when Joey collected the sleepy boy from Frank’s chest. It was almost impossible for Joey to pull herself away from their cuteness, but once she plopped down on the couch beside Frank, she realized just how much of a toll the busy day had taken on her and she automatically curled up beside her man and put her head on his shoulder.

“I wish you guys didn’t have to go home.” Joey yawned. Cuddling with him made her feel so warm and relaxed. After a busy day, it was simply heaven. She could practically feel all of her stress melting away.

“Yeah, me, too.” Frank sighed. He meant it, he was actually dreading having to go back to his place. “Are you okay? We have really gotten a chance to talk about...you know…”

“My stalker dad?” Joey bitterly chuckled.

“It might not even be him, you know.” Frank considered. “It might not even be about you. It could just be some random truck driving around.”

“True. But after running into Cam, it would be one hell of a coincidence. Intimidation is sorta what Mitch does for a living and it has made him a pretty penny over the years. He has messing with people down to a science.” Joey explained with an edge in her voice. “But you could be right because there’s no reason for him to poking around, he knows how I feel about him and I don’t have anything that he wants.”

“Hey,” Frank soothed and wrapped his arm around her. He hated how upset she sounded. “We’ll deal with it together, okay. If you see anything out of the ordinary, I want you to call me. Even if I’m at work, call me right away and I’ll drop everything.”

“I will, I promise.” Joey yawned again. “I like this side of you.”

“What side is that?” Frank smirked and kissed the side of her head. She was so damn cute.

“The side that _looooves_ me.” Joey playfully sung out.

“That’s every side of me, dummy.”

“Ohhh, well played, Adler!” Joey giggled and placed a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Very smooth.”

When Frank let his other hand travel to the back of her neck, Joey looked into his eyes and he was sure that he felt the kind of sparks that he would have scoffed at months ago. They were the kind of sparks that he only thought belonged in cheesy romance novels or sappy love songs. The pull that Frank felt towards her was indescribable and completely out of his control. He hated the idea of her going through anything difficult without him being there by her side.

“I’ll be okay, Frank. I promise.” Joey could practically read his mind and knew that he was worried and feeling protective over her. He pulled her head down to his chest with a sigh and let a large smile stretch across his face when she whispered that she loved him too.

Mary finally came out of Sam’s room and announced that she was successful and that her little friend was sleeping peacefully with his penguin and his elephant flanked on either side of him.

“You’re pretty awesome at that.” Joey praised from Frank’s chest. Joey had tried to get up when Mary came back into the living room, but Frank puffed out a small laugh when Joey had reacted as if they had been caught doing something terrible. Instead, he held her in place and started playing with her hair rather than hiding their affection from his niece. “I should start paying you.”

“You guys are gross.” Mary scoffed with laughter in her voice as she jumped on the couch beside Frank.

Frank let out a loud laugh but Joey was concerned that maybe Mary wasn’t ready to see her and Frank in full couple mode.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Do you want us to sto-”

Frank playfully covered Joey’s whole face with the palm of his hand to keep her from apologizing any further and it made Mary giggle.

“Is this what you guys do when you’re alone?” Mary openly asked. “Like when you guys go on dates and stuff?”

“Sometimes.” Frank tried to answer her with a straight face, but Joey was pressing her face into his chest to keep from laughing and he ended up cracked up as well.

“Well?” Mary questioned them. “What does this mean? Do you guys love each other yet? Are you going to get married and have babies? Sam and I should know what your intentions are…”

“Hey, hey, hey…” Frank tried to stop Mary from completely embarrassing him, but Mary spoke over him.

“I don’t want you to not have a life because of me, Frank, and you guys are always so happy when you’re together. You obviously really like each other. But I wonder where this is going to leave me and Sam? Divorce rate are still really high, almost 50/50. I’m trying to prove to Sam that people just don’t leave all the time. If you guys -”

“Hey.” Joey reached cross Frank and tucked Mary’s blond hair behind her ear. She ran her hand down Mary’s cheek and held her chin so that the little girl would calm down and focus on her. “The answers are one, yes, and two, I don’t knows. But no matter what happens, it won’t change how we feel about you two.”

“You love each other?” Mary whispered with a trace of awe in her voice. “For real?”

“We do, sweetheart. And you know what?” Joey added with her eyes glistening with happy tears. “I kinda love you, too.”

“You do?” Mary asked and smiled a slow smile once she let Joey’s confession sink in.

Frank had to look away before the look on Mary’s face made him want to cry. Joey was simply the best thing that had happened to them in a very long time.

“Uh huh. So much that it hurts sometimes for me to think about it. You and Frank are a package deal. How could I not love you guys. You Adlers are pretty awesome. I was a goner as soon as I met you guys!” Frank puffed out another small laugh, but Joey got a little bit more serious. “Just know that, no matter what happens, you and Sam aren’t going anywhere because splitting you guys up wouldn’t be fair to you two and besides that...it would break my heart.”

“Good, cause I really like Sam.”

“I know you do, sweetheart. He’s crazy about you, too.”

“I have a life. I mean... I’ve always had a life. You never kept me from anything.” Frank cleared his throat and pulled Mary against the other side of him and puffed out a laugh when Joey playfully pinched Mary’s nose to make her smile. “I told you before, I didn’t mean what I said. I was just mad. You remember everything don’t you?”

“Duh.” Joey teased. “I’d like to introduce you to your niece, the gifted genius math prodigy.”

Mary giggled and Joey reached across Frank again and kissed the little girl’s forehead.  
Joey had a way about her that made hope swirl around inside Frank’s chest and he was learning to enjoy the feeling instead of fearing it.

It was getting late and soon Frank and Mary had to get going back to their place. But, before Mary said goodbye, she wrapped her little arms around Joey’s neck and Joey stood up with the little girl's feet dangling in the air and playfully let out a growl while she gave her a big bear hug.

Frank stood in the doorway and had to look away again. Watching Joey and Mary together was starting to mean more and more to him with every passing day.

“I love you, too, Joey.” Mary whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek. Joey held on to her a little longer and enjoyed the moment and was grateful that she was able to wait until Mary had sailed past Frank and skipped down her porch steps before a few happy tears fell from her eyes.

“You okay there, Kincade?” Frank asked as he kissed her forehead.

“Never better. Take care of my girl, Alder.” Joey smiled and wiped away her tears.

“You look after my boy.” Frank added without thinking. It was cute to have Joey refer to Mary as ‘her girl’, but confessing how he felt about Sam left Frank feeling too vulnerable for his liking. _“Boys._ I mean.” Frank quickly corrected and pointed a menacing finger at Gus behind her to try to downplay his feelings towards Sam. “I’m watching you, big guy. Be a good boy and prove to her that you’re a fiercest guard dog in town.”

“Night, baby. Sleep well.” Joey whispered and stayed in her doorway and watched Frank and Mary cross the street. Frank wasn’t fooling anyone. He loved Sam as much as she loved Mary and that was exactly how it should be.

Joey closed the door and looked around her house. Things around the place were really coming together, but, with Frank and Mary gone, Joey couldn't shake the feeling that her new house had stopped feeling like a home.  
\-----------------------------------------

Later that week, while Joey was at work, she got a frantic phone call from Roberta, out of the blue, and time seemed to stop as panic suddenly flowed through Joey’s body.

“Roberta? Slow down, sweetie. I can’t understand you. What happened? Are Frank and Mary okay?” Joey held her breath until Roberta was able to put her fears to rest through her sobs. Once she knew that they were okay, Joey turned to Sheryl and mouthed _‘I’m sorry,’_ and true to form, her boss shooed her away and insisted that she take the phone call.

It took Roberta a few moments to calm down before she was able to explain to Joey that her mother was seriously ill and that Jessie was driving her to the airport in an hour so she could be with her in Louisiana.

“I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?” Joey chewed on the inside of her cheek and wished that she had the ability to hug Roberta through the phone.

“Frank was saying this morning that he needed to work late and I was going to pick the baby up from school...” Roberta sniffed. “I hate asking…”

“Don’t be silly. Of course I’ll pick Mary up. That’s what family is for. Don’t you worry about anything except keeping positive thoughts for your mom.”

Joey also insisted that she would water Roberta’s houseplants and pick up her mail for her as well. Roberta’s neighbour was set to take in Einstein while she was away and Joey texted her mom and told her to look after Roberta and to give her a hug from her. Just the thought of something happening to her own mother freaked Joey out and she hated what Roberta was going through.

Sheryl felt terrible and made sure that Joey was off work in time to pick up Mary, but still couldn’t resist making cheeky comments about Joey’s family growing and her becoming a mother times two. Joey blushed and had a feeling that her and Frank’s relationship was currently the subject of town gossip and Joey wouldn’t have been surprised if Sheryl was taking bets on how long it would take for them to take things to the next level.

It was a little annoying and intrusive, but Joey knew that her boss’s heart was in the right place and was only trying to cheer her on in her own way. Joey and Frank had laid in bed together one night and hadn't been able to stop laughing at the possibility of Sheryl accidently solving a crime one day armed only with neighbourhood gossip and her nosiness.

Picking up Mary was fun, although Joey was a little concerned that she had no one to answer to at the college and that she could just drive away with Mary without any questions. There had been a mountain of forms that Joey had had to fill out explaining who was allowed to take Sam from his playschool and, even then, any adult had to show ID before they could leave.

Mary was in college, but she was still just a seven (almost eight) year old girl. Something about the situation didn’t sit right with Joey, but, because the drive home was filled with laughter and sing alongs, Joey’s concerns were soon forgotten.

The two of them stopped by Sam’s playschool and he lost his mind when he saw that Mary was there with her and the three of the stopped for ice cream before they headed back to Joey’s house.

The pictures and texts that Joey sent Frank from the ice cream shop kept a smile on his face as worked on designing his secret project in his workshop. Frank felt bad for Roberta and hoped that everything worked out and had texted her his support as soon as he had heard about her mom.

“Working late tonight, Frank?” Mr. Anderson enquired as he stopped by the workshop with his hands in his pockets.

True to form, Gus ran to greet the old man with his tail happily wagging. Any man that insisted that you bring your dog to work, obviously had a way about them that dogs seemed to respond to.

“Ya, I’m trying to design a little surprise for my girlfriend.” Frank confessed as he watched his boss play with his dog. “But I’m not much of a woodworker, though so it should be interesting.”

“What did you have in mind, son?” Frank and peaked his interest and he walked over to his workbench with Gus following close behind.

Frank showed the older man his tentative blueprints for the porch swing that he wanted to build for Joey and Mr. Anderson offered him his expertise. Not only had Mr. Anderson been successful on Wall Street, but he also appeared to be a jack of all trades and had some carpentry experience, too.

“Well this seems simple enough.” Mr. Anderson sighed as he pulled out his reading glasses and took a closer look. Within a few minutes, Frank’s boss had suggested so many improvements that Frank had to pull out a new piece of paper and start his design all over again.

“Why a porch swing?” Mr. Anderson curiously asked. “I’m sure we could come with a design for a nice patio set, maybe even some planters. She’s a florist right?”

“She is. Joey has her heart set on a porch swing, though.” Mr. Anderson was really getting into the project and it made Frank smile. He’d never gotten along with a boss so well before. “A little old lady one, to be exact. But planters might be a good idea, too, at some point. She’d love that.”

Before he knew it, Mr. Anderson (who insisted that Frank start calling him Steven) had suggested that they use the reclaimed wood that he had ordered for another project on the resort and, when Frank offered to pay him for it, Steven refused. And just like that Frank had a partner in crime and was more confident that Joey was going to love her new porch swing.

Frank was still getting to know his eccentric boss, but he suspected that he was simply bored with retirement and was constantly looking for ways to stay busy. He'd confessed as much when he'd told that Frank that buying a whole beachside resort was a compromise that he had made with his wife when he agreed to retire. He could buy the place if he promised to indulge in the resort life and slow down a little bit.

Frank was getting really excited about the prospect of making something for Joey with his own two hands. Ever since they had finished with refinishing her floors, Frank had been itching for a new project. He couldn’t wait to watch the sunset with her again out on the porch.

He was missing her, so Frank pulled out his phone to check in and see how Joey was doing with both of the kids.

\-----------------------

Joey couldn’t get over what a little adult Mary was when she was working. Sure, Joey had seen Mary with her nose in her laptop before, but watching her on a deadline was really something else.

She was mindful to make sure that Mary didn’t push herself too hard, but Joey could tell that math was Mary’s passion and she wanted to support the little girl’s passion the best that she could.

“Here you go, sweetheart.” Joey announced as she came out of the guest room. “I have it all set up. But but I want you to finish your dinner first.”

Joe’s guest room had essentially been an area where all of the junk from the move had gone to die. But after Mary pleaded with her for a quiet place to work, Joey rolled up her sleeves and cleaned it out the best she could to give the little girl her own little refuge away from Sam and his loud cartoons. She had even managed to set up a small makeshift desk for her with two fold out tv tables from her mother’s house.

“Thank you!” Mary cheered with a loud sigh and an exaggerated eye roll.

Joey gave her a pointed look and tried not to laugh as Mary stuffed the rest of her dinner in her mouth and rushed to grab her things. Joey loved her sassy little attitude. Mary reminded her a lot of Alice when she was kid. Hell, Alice was still sassy and it was a quality that Joey very much appreciated.

“Wow, this is nice.” Mary noted as she set up her laptop and looked around the room.

“Thanks. I still don’t know what I’m going to do with this room. Alice is bringing over a single bed that she doesn’t need so I was thinking about making it into a guest room. But maybe an office would be a good idea, too.”

“Must be nice to have your own room.” Mary stated almost absentmindedly as she set up her laptop and typed away on the keys.

“Well, this can be your room.” Joey impulsively blurted out.

“Really!” Mary beamed with bright happy eyes.

“I mean, it can be yours when you’re here.” Joey tried to walk back her offer a little bit so it didn’t sound as if she was asking Mary to move in with her.

Joey couldn’t stand to see Mary upset or disappointed, it affected her almost as deeply as it did when Frank was upset. So when Mary appeared sad about not having a room of her own, Joey’s heart had spoken up before her brain had a chance to process how her offer could have been perceived.

Joey mused at how quickly the people she loved could wrap her around their little fingers. In no time at all, Joey had given Mary permission to decorate her spare room in anyway that she saw fit and had even agreed to start a seashell art project with her to dress up one of the walls.

Her offer had made Mary so happy, Joey only hoped that Frank wouldn’t be uncomfortable with it. All in all, she figured that the worst thing that would happen would be her ending up with girly guest room with a desk. How bad could that be? Joey couldn’t help but also consider that her and Frank might be able to spend more time together if Mary had a comfortable place to sleep over and hoped that it would be a good selling point.

Joey kissed the top of Mary’s head and was about to leave her to her school work when Mary got a Skype call through her laptop.

Joey’s heart nearly stopped when she heard a female british voice come through the speakers. It had to be Evelyn, Frank’s mother. Joey’s suspicions were confirmed when Mary happily greeted her grandmother and asked her for an update on her mother’s theory.

Joey gulped and hoped that she could sneak out of the room without Mary’s webcam spotting her. Unfortunately, Joey heard Evelyn ask where Mary was since the background looked different and asked who that was slinking out of the room behind her.

“That’s Joey, Frank’s girlfriend.” Mary declared as if their relationship was common knowledge.

“Oh. Is that so?” Evelyn appeared to be pondering this new information and Joey felt like an ass for trying to avoid her.

“She’s great, I can’t wait for you to meet her.” Mary praised with pride.

“Hi!” Joey bent down and quickly waved to the webcam. Sam started calling for her and Joey thanked her luck stars that he had given her an excuse to leave. “Hi, Mrs. Adler. I’m Joey, sorry I gotta go...tend to...umm...it was nice meeting you!”

Joey hated how fake her voice sounded and how she couldn’t seem to articulate a simple coherent sentence. She was sure that she had made a terrible first impression. On her way into the living room, Joey got a text message from Frank, who had been checking in with her, and she quickly let him know about her unexpected Skype conversation.

Frank: What did you say?

Joey: Seriously. All I said was hi and bye. Sam needed some water so I got the hell out of there so fast that there was a Joey shaped hole in the wall.

Frank never texted back so Joey went on with her evening. Mary kept working and Joey played with Sam then gave him a bath and got him ready for bed. She had to smile when he insisted that Mary should read to him instead of her. Joey sensed a pattern forming and couldn’t have loved it more.

“What am I chopped liver!” Joey laughed as she tucked him in and kissed his forehead.

“Mary just does these cool voices for every character. It’s fun. I’m sorry, Mommy.”

“I’m just kidding, kiddo. I’ll get her.” Joey smiled. Mary had been working non stop for a few hours and Joey had a feeling that she needed to take a break anyway. Besides, watching Mary and Sam bond was Joey’s favourite thing in the world so it was easy to oblige him.

Joey made her way into her spare room in time to witness Mary furiously slamming down her laptop and throwing her little body onto the back of her chair in a huff.

“Whoa! What happened?” Mary’s temper was so similar to Frank’s, Joey couldn’t help but find it a little amusing.

“Stupid girls. They think that they are so special because they got a part in a school play. Who cares about that in the real world? It’s not like they are doing Shakespeare or anything.”

“Oh.” Joey was a little confused. If she didn’t know any better she’s think that Mary sounded a little jealous and Joey sensed some sour grapes.

“They are all talking about it on Facebook. It’s nauseating.” Mary scoffed.

“You’re on Facebook?” Joey was a little shocked, but what did she know about raising kids. Mary was so advanced for her age of course she would have found a way to communicate with her friends from Girl Scouts but seven years old felt way too young.

“Everyone is on Facebook.” Mary quickly attested.

“Frank isn’t.” Joey pointed out with a wink.

“Frank’s like an honorary senior citizen. He doesn’t count.”

“This is true.” Joey giggled. “What else are your friends talking about on Facebook?”

“A school dance.” Mary sighed. “They are all going on about shopping for dresses and how they are going to braid their hair.”

“A dance? You’re seven!”

“It’s a family thing, it’s not like it’s a prom. They are raising money for school stuff. They’re having a bake sale, too.”

“Oh. Are you into that kinda thing?”

“Not really. I mean, some dresses are nice and all...but I have no reason to wear one.” Mary played with her fingers in her lap and had a hard time looking at her.

“Do you miss your old school?” Joey asked with concern. There was something in Mary’s voice that worried her. Talking to her friends online and finding out about all of the fun stuff things that they were doing at school seemed to zap all of the happy out of her.

“It was fun...a little boring with the schoolwork stuff, but we still did a lot of fun stuff sometimes.” Mary sadly confessed to her. “But all of that is over now, I guess.”

“Hey.” Joey cooed and lovingly smoothed her hair. “You’ve been working in here for too long. Sam is asking for you. Let’s take a break okay. Maybe we can do some yoga together before Frank gets home.”

Reading to Sam was exactly what Mary needed to lift her spirits. Joey leaned against the doorframe and listened to all of Mary’s silly voices and jumped when she felt Frank’s arm wrap around her waist.

“I didn’t hear you come home.” Joey whispered as Frank nuzzled against the side of her neck and breathed in her perfume. Feeling his strong warm body against hers gave her butterflies in her stomach. What she wouldn’t give to be able to sleep in his arms that night.

“I used my key.” Frank quietly answered before he placed a kiss to her temple and then another on one the side of her neck. All felt right with the world when they were together. Holding her was the perfect way to end the day. “But you’re right though. Gus is a terrible guard dog. Whenever I drop him off he lets me right in.”

“He knows you belong here.”

Frank nodded his head and silently agreed with her while he listened to Mary tell her extremely animated story. He loved these moments more than he cared to admit. He did belong there. So did Mary for that matter. He tried to fight the feeling because it was too soon to be thinking that way. Frank didn’t want anything to mess up what he had with Joey. Moving too fast was a risk that he wasn’t willing to take no matter how right moving in together might feel.

But, as he tucked in Mary that night, Frank looked out the window and across the street and couldn't help but let himself fantasize about a day when all four of them could share a home together.

 


	19. "Milestones"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey and Frank experience their first real taste of conflict.

****

**Author’s Note:** _I am terribly sorry for the long delay with this chapter. I am currently moving and life is a little nuts. I’m sure you all understand. Just know that I still have a lot planned for this story and I have no intention of stopping until it’s finished! Thank you so much for your patience you guys are awesome! xo_

**NSFW Warning: This chapter contains sexual content.**

Joey sat in the reception area outside of the principal’s office and tried not to feel intimidated like she had been when she had been a little kid. She’d been a student of Howard Elementary School a million years ago and it was uncanny how not much had changed. Unfortunately, the familiarity of the building brought back all of the feelings of shame and dread that she’d gone through whenever she’d gotten into trouble as a kid.

Joey hadn’t been a particularly bad kid, but growing up as Mitch Clauson’s daughter had very few upsides. Joey had never received the benefit of the doubt growing up and had had to shoulder the majority of the blame if she were ever involved in any kind of mischief. It hadn’t been fair, but Joey tried to remind herself that she wasn’t in trouble (this time, at least) and that she was here for Mary.

Frank would understand what she was trying to do, Joey told herself. He had to. Afterall, it had been him that had fought so hard to give Mary a normal childhood and they both had agreed that it was very noble goal and it was that goal that had her sitting there in her old elementary school with her stomach in knots.

After listening to Mary lament over her limited social life, Joey’s plan was to see if she could get Mary enrolled back into the elementary school in a very limited capacity so that she could take part in all of the social events that took place during the school year.

It seemed like a great idea, to Joey at least. School plays, clubs, sports teams, dances, bake sales, prom, homecoming and Christmas concerts. They were all great memories and milestones from her own childhood and teenage years and she really didn’t want Mary to miss out on any of it just because the little girl, that had stolen her heart, was gifted and was already attending college level classes.

Joey nervously played with her fingers in her lap and tried to convince herself that she was doing the right thing, but she knew that she should have spoken to Frank about it first. But in her defense, Joey knew all too well how Frank’s handsome face would turn sour and annoyed when he spoke about his past dealings with Mary’s former principal, Miss Davis. From what he had told Joey, Principal Davis had been a small minded nosey woman that believed that she was far more important than she actually was and lauded her authority over anyone she deemed beneath her.

Based on their history, Joey knew that if Frank had met with her to discuss Mary’s enrollment, he would surely lose his cool and insult her in some way, and that wouldn’t do Mary any favors. Joey loved her sexy smartass and admired how little Frank cared what people thought of him, but those qualities weren’t going to help her in this situation. Besides, this might all blow up in Joey’s face and the principal might laugh her out of her office. If that were going to be the case, Joey would rather be privately humiliated. It was worth a shot though, Mary deserved to have the best childhood possible and nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The school’s receptionist, a kind middle aged lady, gave Joey a sweet smiled from behind her desk and Joey smiled back and took a deep breath. The lady must have sensed Joey’s discomfort and asked if she would like coffee or tea as she waited.

“No, thank you, I’m okay.” Joey sweetly smiled. “I just have to remind myself that I’m not reporting in for detention.”

The lady puffed out a soft laugh and Joey smoothed out her dress and inspected herself for dog hair for the fourth time since she gotten into the school. Between Gus and Frank’s two cats, pet hair had become a recent problem.

 _Frank really likes this dress_ , Joey thought to herself and felt a pang of guilt squeeze at her heart when his handsome face drifted into her mind. She really hated going behind his back and had to do a gut check and remind herself that she was doing the right thing….she hoped.

Frank been working late for the last few days and Joey had enjoyed spending more one on one time with Mary. Roberta was still out of town caring for her mother and Joey was doing her part to help pick up the slack. To Joey, it had become remarkable how adding Mary to her list of responsibilities had quickly became something that Joey looked forward to.

Frank was right, she really was evolving and was becoming more confident in motherhood. Sam and Mary were the best part of Joey’s day and the extra workload was embraced. Getting to see Frank when he came to pick Mary up every night was a nice little bonus as well.

Frank, surprisingly, had no issue with Joey impulsively gifting Mary her guest room and the seashell art project had been coming along nicely and had everyone they knew collecting seashell for them. If Joey didn’t know any better, she’d think that Frank actually liked the idea of Mary having a bedroom in her house, but was trying to downplay his happiness and play it cool. Joey loved that she had managed to make both Mary and Frank happy and was hunting for a half decent second hand desk to give Mary for her birthday along with the collection of sheet music that she had been picking for her ever since she had Ed’s old piano repaired.

Things were going so well for the most part. Mary and Sam were closer than ever and Mary’s tree pose was getting better and better everyday. Joey loved her little yoga partner and how Mary refused to give up. In fact, Mary and had started to use yoga as a way to reset her mind when her workload got harder and Joey couldn’t have been more proud of her and considered buying her a yoga mat for her birthday as well, but was worried that adding another gift would be overkill.

But it had been during their one on one time together, that Mary had had on opportunity to confess to Joey all of the things that had been bothering her for weeks now, but hadn't wanted to burden her uncle with.

Joey had taken Mary’s confidence to heart and listened carefully while the little girl had spilled her heart out about her new friends. The more conversations that Joey had with Mary, the more Joey’s concern for her grew. Mary really did want to fit in with the other girls and had expressed some regret in letting her gifts show in the first place because it had made her differences more apparent. Joey had quickly assured her that letting her gifts shine was the best thing to do and that she shouldn't regret a single thing.

Joey had tried her best to express to Mary, in no uncertain terms, that she should never make herself small or pretend to be someone else. That was when Mary had confessed to Joey that Frank had wanted her to hide her math skills when he had first enrolled her in school because he knew what would happen.

Needless to say, when hearing the news, Joey had not been very impressed with how Frank had handled the situation.

Joey had wanted Mary to know that being special was perfectly okay and that she wanted her to be proud of herself and all that she had accomplished. Joey still wanted her to pursue her education, but didn’t see why the little girl who that she loved couldn’t have everything that she wanted. In fact, the more time that Joey spent with Mary, the more that she wanted to give her the whole world. That was when Joey had impulsively called the school and made an appointment with Ms. Davis.

Frank and Gus had come home from work seconds after Joey had hung up the phone and Joey had jumped as if she had been caught in the act, but had quickly recovered and greeted Frank with a hug before he could catch on to her nervousness.

_“How was your day, babe?” Joey asked him as he squeezed her close and groaned into the side of her neck. She was still mad at him for instructing Mary to hide her gift, but she still loved him more than anything and was genuinely happy to see him._

_“Good. I was out on the water for most of the day. I wanna take you out on one of the catamarans when Roberta gets back. You’d love it.”_

_“Aye aye, Captain.”_

_Joey could smell the sunscreen that she had bought for him on his skin and smiled. She hated keeping things from him and couldn’t wait to get her meeting out of the way so she could unburden herself. Hiding things from him stressed her out._

_“You’d make the hottest first mate. Say, how was your day? Were the kids good for ya?”_

_“They’re little angels...little loud, play fighting angels.” Joey joked with a playful eyeroll._

_“Say, can’t I use your shower?” Frank asked after he puffed out a laugh and kissed her forehead. “My hot water tank is acting up again.”_

_“Of course, there’s clean towels in the linen closet.”_

Joey had taken a deep breath and had listened to Frank happily greet Mary and Sam and had tried her hardest to shake off her guilt.

After his shower, Frank had found Joey sitting out on the porch steps nursing a giant cup of tea and had sat down beside her. He had found it odd that Joey had immediately brought up his decision to have Mary attend a standard public school.

Little did he know, Joey had been trying to prepare herself for her meeting with Principal Davis, and had wanted as much info as she could get her hands on before she walked through those school doors.

Frank had obliged her and had gone over the whole thing; explaining to Joey that Mary'd had no social skills and how he'd felt as though he had been sheltering Mary in a similar way that Evelyne had sheltered Diane. Because of that, he'd felt that Mary needed to get out into the world and Joey had nodded her head, agreeing wholeheartedly.

_“Were you just hoping that no one would notice how smart she was?” Joey snapped a little harsher than she had intended. “Oh, and seven is way too young to be on Facebook, by the way!” She threw in for good measure._

_“Whoa.” Frank had been taken aback by her sudden change of tone, but he had a feeling that something had been bothering her ever since he'd gotten home. “What is all this about, Joe?”_

_“Did you really tell her to hide how smart she is?” Joey accused with disgust and narrowed eyes. “To, essentially, hide who she was?”_

After a heartfelt conversation...well, maybe more like heated debate...actually, who was she kidding? Things had ended up escalating into a fight. Joey hadn’t held on to her anger as well as she had planned and they'd ended up having their first real fight sitting on her porch steps while the kids had been watching SpongeBob inside and a few of their nosey neighbours had, no doubt, eavesdropped on them.

Joey hadn't been able to back down or get over how Frank had wanted to pretend that Mary’s gifts didn’t exist and had instructed her to hide who she was from people. She could only imagine the kind of damage that it could have caused Mary, in the long run, and had expressed as much to Frank.

Frank hadn’t looked at it that way and he had felt defensive and offended, but, mostly, Joey’s observation had sent him reeling and some of his old defensive mechanisms had threatened to surface as he considered bailing again. Deep down, Frank had known that there had been some truth to what Joey had said, but, at that point, he had been far too angry to meet her halfway.

In the past, Frank would never have stuck around with a woman long enough to fight with her over anything important. That evening had been a first for him.

Little did Joey know, Frank had been wrestling with himself as well as arguing with her. The old him would have stopped listening, cut his losses, grabbed Mary and gotten the hell out of there. Even though he had resisted the urge, hadn’t meant that he didn’t have any fight in him.

Frank had lashed out at her and bitterly called her a “parenting expert” in a sarcastic tone. It had been a cheap shot, to which he had quickly apologized for, after he’d seen the hurt in her eyes. Hurting Joey, even for a second, had been sobering and had snapped him out of his rage.

But as Frank had started to calm down, Joey had recovered from his stinging blow and had kept trying to prove her point. Joey was a tough cookie and witnessing how much she cared about Mary had been pretty amazing. He would have told her as much if he hadn’t been so annoyed with her.

_“Frank, you essentially just stuck your head in the sand hoping that everything would just magically turn out okay.” Joey scoffed._

_“Look, hindsight is 20/20, okay. But I did the best that I could.” Frank conceded. He hated fighting with her and seeing the disappointment behind her eyes made him feel sick to his stomach. Being at odds with Joey was a terrible feeling Frank was quickly learning._

_“I know you did.” Joey sighed and relented. The truth was, she was bound to make plenty of mistakes with Sam and felt terrible about judging Frank for his mistakes with Mary. They were both only human after all._

_“You know, sometimes I wonder what would have happened if you were around back then.” Frank confessed sadly out towards the street. Frank had always wanted her to see the real him, but he hated disappointing her with his flaws and past mistakes. “Maybe you would have kept me from messing up so badly or at least stopped me from sending Mary to that foster family.”_

_“Damn straight. I wouldn’t have let you second guess yourself. I would have believed in you then like I believe in you now. Besides, if I knew you had Diane’s theory, I would have delivered it to your mother myself.”_

_Frank puffed out an amused laugh and tried to imagine Joey ever going toe to toe with his mother. For as intimidating as his mother was, he’d always put his money on his girl._

_“I didn’t think about it that way...you know, all the hiding herself stuff.” Frank cleared his throat and tried to be honest with her. “She’s a great kid, I never wanted…I was just so worried that if people knew...I mean, look what almost happened with my mother.”_

_“I’m sorry for freaking out.” Joey sighed and rested her head on his shoulder and loved that his damp hair smelled like her shampoo. She loved how merged their two lives were becoming. “The truth is, I’ve never lived under the threat of someone possibly taking my kid away. Who knows what I would have done if I were in your shoes.”_

_“I am sorry about that ‘parenting expert’ jab. That was low.”_

_“I forgive you, ya big meany.” Joey teased. “I’m really sorry, too, I don’t actually think that you’re a raging dickhead.”_

_“You never actually called me a ‘raging dickhead.’” Frank playfully mused._

_“Maybe not out loud...”_

_Frank had smiled and rested his head against her’s. They sat there in silence for a few minutes and watched the sunset on their street. Frank couldn’t wait to finish her porch swing for her, because these moments were becoming so precious to him. He loved how Joey could make him appreciate so many of the little things in life. He really wanted to become a man that she could be proud of. Not bailing at the first sign of trouble had been a good start._

_“Hey! That wasn’t that bad for a first fight, huh?” Frank praised with a loud chuckle when he realized that they had hit one of their first milestones._

_“You’re still breathing aren’t you?” Joey sassed back and wrapped her arms around him._

_“That I am. I was worried though for a second.” He sighed and kissed her temple. “You’re pretty hot when you’re pissed off, you know that?”_

_“You were trying your best, Frank, I get that.” Joey smiled and took his hand and linked their fingers together. “I know that you didn’t want Mary to end up like Diane. We won’t let that happen, okay. Trust me, Mary can have both. An education and a childhood. You aren’t doing this all on your own anymore. I want to help, if you’ll let me.”_

_“I trust you, Joe.” Frank insisted and brought their linked fingers to his lips and kissed her hand. “I always knew that Mary was special, I just didn’t want to lose her the way that I lost Diane...and I don’t just mean losing her losing her. I lost Diane long before she killed herself. I just want Mary to be a kid.”_

Frank and Joey had sat on her porch steps hand in hand that night and Joey had listened to him tell her all about his sister. Happy and sad memories alike. Joey loved it when Frank let her in like that and she'd listened to him tell stories that he admitted that he hadn’t thought of in years, and others, that he confessed that he hadn’t told anyone before. Frank had loved his sister dearly, that was made very clear to Joey as the sun had set around them and the stars had come out.

The more that Joey had listened to him, the more she'd become increasingly committed to making sure that Mary had the happiest childhood possible. Joey had also started to understand that the majority of Frank’s decisions during the custody case had been made out of fear, so it had been easy to forgive him for his mistakes.

After they had realized how late it had gotten, the two of them had gone inside to find that Mary had already put Sam to bed and she was sleeping soundly in the single bed that Alice had delivered for Joey’s guest room the day before. Frank had figured that that had been his niece’s way of telling him that she liked it better at Joey’s house and Frank had to agree with her.

After deciding to let Mary sleep, Joey had kissed the little girl’s head and had taken Frank’s hand and had lead him to her bedroom. There had been no reason, at that point, not to have their own sleepover together.

_“Whaddya say we celebrate, big guy.” Joey whispered to him as she slowly sauntered down the hall and tried to seduce him._

_“Our first fight?” Frank whispered back without taking his eyes off her ass. “I don’t wanna celebrate that.”_

_“No, silly.” Joey giggled but tried to stay as sexy as possible but it was beyond difficult because Frank made her feel giddy like a little girl. “Now we get to have make up sex!”_

_“You know me, Joe. I’m always a slut for you.” Frank added with a rich hum in his voice._

As suspected, their night together had held its own special brand of magic. Every look and touch had felt electric and heated, even watching each other get undressed for the night had been the sexiest experience for both of them and had felt like a playful romantic striptease. But making love, knowing that the kids were in the same house, had the two of them giggling and trying so hard to be quiet.

Make up sex had completely lived up to its reputation, Frank had thought to himself as he'd tried to match Joey’s passion and physically prove to her that he still loved her while at the same time be on the receiving end of her fervor. Her stamina and enthusiasm for him always amazed him, but, that night, it had only been more powerful and had completely blown his mind.

In the past, Frank hadn’t stuck around long enough after a conflict to experience such an explosion of lust and emotion. For the first time in his life, Frank had truly understood the meaning of the word cathartic. They really had been celebrating so many different milestones that night.

There hadn’t been an inch of her body that Frank hadn’t wanted to worship and taste and the same had been true for Joey. Giving pleasure had been the priority for both of them and, at one point, it had almost felt like a competition. So needless to say, keeping quiet had proved to be a very difficult task. Especially, when listening to Joey had become such a turn on for him. But when Joey had been getting close to her climax, Frank had thought to cover her mouth with his hand to help muffle her mewls and moans and Joey could have sworn that having him forcefully try and silence her had made her come even harder of some dark erotic reason.

In turn, when Joey had gotten on top and had ridden him the way that he liked her to, Frank had let her pin his arms above his head and she had silenced his uncontrollable grunts and groans with a searing kiss as he'd come.

_“Teamwork.” Joey giggled against his wet smiling lips._

_“I like being on your team, Kincade.”_

_“Of course you do, smartass, my team is the coolest and we have sleepovers.” Joey smirked as she let his arms free and admired him lying beneath her. “Gosh, I told you that you would look amazing in my bed and I wasn’t wrong.”_

_“I like your bed. We gotta fight more often.” Frank joked as he tried to catch his breath and ran his hands down her bare back and grabbed her ass with both hands. He just couldn’t get enough of her. “I had no idea that make up sex could be this hot.”_

_“Trust me, Alder, there's no need to keep fighting. Everytime with you is hot.” Joey praised as she rubbed her nose against his and climbed off of him. “Besides, being mad at you makes my tummy hurt.”_

_“Duly noted.”_

After they had cleaned up and set their alarms, they had curled up together and continued to talk about the custody case in the dark. Joey could tell that Frank had kept so much bottled up and, now that he finally had someone to share his feelings with, he hadn't been able to stop himself from telling her everything.

Joey had smiled to herself and had rested her head on Frank’s chest while she'd listened to him share his thoughts and fears, being vulnerable with her.

Frank had explained to her that he'd always wanted the best for Mary but had never been convinced that he had been the best person to raise her and it had broken Joey’s heart to listen to the man she loved talk about himself like that.

Frank had also talked about times when Mary had been a baby and how advanced she had always been for her age. Joey had cooed over his stories and had lamented that she had never gotten a chance to know Mary back then. Frank had bragged about what a cute baby Mary had been, like any proud father would and Joey had found herself falling in love with him all over again.

But Frank had been thinking about Mary’s infancy for a reason. A part of Frank had always known that Mary had been different and had known that the day would come when he would have to face her gifts and all of the challenges that came along with it. But he'd confessed to Joey that she’d been right; he _had_ willfully stuck his head in the sand and had hoped it would all go away, to a certain degree. But, in the end, Frank really did believe that Mary had the right to her own destiny, and Joey agreed.

It hadn’t been until Frank had noticed her lack of social skills, that he'd considered ending her home schooling. He had foolishly hoped that teachers wouldn’t notice that Mary was a genius and had poked Joey’s side when he'd felt her smiling against his chest and trying to hold in her laughter.

All someone would have to do was spend about 15 minutes with Mary to know that she was different than other kids. Frank, of all people, should have known that.

Joey had been sympathetic and had understood his concerns, but she'd also explained to him that she still saw some room for compromise. A higher education would always be a part of Mary life whether they liked it or not, but turning Mary into someone else wasn’t an option in her eyes and, after their fight on the porch, Frank had agreed with Joey wholeheartedly. As far as Joey was concerned, Mary’s gift wasn’t a curse and she wanted Mary to have everything in the whole world and that meant a stellar education and a happy well balanced childhood.  
  
But as Joey sat in the Howard School reception area, she had to admit that Frank had, initially, been right about one thing, Mary needed to make friends and what better place than a school surrounded by children her own age. Joey had a hard time picturing Mary as a lonely antisocial little girl. All Joey had ever known of Mary was a bright and vibrant girl that was full of joy. The picture that Frank had painted of her before was bleak, but, if what he had said was true, Frank and Roberta had done an excellent job of turning that all around.

Thanks to Girl Scouts, Mary had friends. A lot of friends, actually. But they were friends that were all having normal childhoods and attending events that Mary could only experience from second hand accounts and that wasn’t fair. Just because Mary was a genius, it didn’t mean that she should miss out on anything. Joey hated that Mary had started to feel like she was on outside looking in. It was important to Joey that Mary got to experience everything in life.

Joey would walk through fire for Mary, but the longer that she sat in her old school's office, the more Joey was thinking that walking through actual fire would be a lot less nerve wracking.

Joey wasn’t really sure what she was going to say to the principal, but she hoped that she could get across her the same thing that had gotten across to Frank the night before. Mary was different and that didn’t have to be a bad thing.

\---------------------------

“I’m sorry, Miss...?” Principal. Davis asked from behind her desk with a with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Kincade. Joey Kincade.” Joey politely smiled and took the seat that Principal Davis had motioned for her to take.

“Well what can I help you with today, Miss Kincade, I’d have to double check but I don’t think I recall a child here with that surname.”

“No, no you wouldn’t. Umm. I’m actually here to talk about Mary Adler.”

“Mary Alder?” A flash of recognition shone in the principal’s eyes and she stopped flipping through a folder on her desk. “And what, may I ask, is your relationship to Mary?”

“I’m in a relationship her guardian, Frank Adler.”

“I’m sorry, Joey, is it? But Mary no longer attends Howard School, I’m sure you are aware of that.”

“I realize that but-”

“But even if she was enrolled here,” Principal Davis rudely cut her off. “I couldn’t speak to you about her without parental consent.” Principal Davis started flipping through her folder again and Joey’s heart sank. “So if you wouldn’t mind, things are quite chaotic around here today.”

Just then the phone rang and Principal Davis held her finger up to Joey, motioning for her to wait just a moment.

Joey smiled cordially and leaned back in her chair. She was thankful for the interruption, because it gave her a moment of two to collect her thoughts. Things were not going as Joey had hoped and she needed to second to regroup.

Principal Davis was not on the phone for more than two minutes before she started to become very cross and annoyed with the person on the other end of the line and she began to raise her voice in protest.

“You cannot just dump the faculty off the photography contract!” Principal Davis got more and more annoyed and outraged the further into the conversations she got. “Fine! Have it your way. The school with just have to make other arrangements then, because the faculty is a very important part of the yearbook and they need to be represented. But needless to say, this may affect our contracting in the future. You are not the only photographer in the state.”

Joey assumed that having a moment to collect her thoughts would have been helpful and it had been; for Joey at least. But for Principal Davis, her professional charm disappeared the moment she had slammed the receiver down without so much as a formal goodbye.

Now the woman sitting in front of her felt like a totally different person. Joey couldn’t help but gulp when the now angry principal returned her attention back to her with cold narrow eyes. And just like that, Joey felt like she was eight years old again.

“I’m sorry, I won’t keep you long, I assume that you are very busy.” Joey let out a nervous laugh and trying to keep her shit together. _Flatter her_ , Joey told herself.

“Look, Joey is it? Howard School isn’t the right place for Mary, it never was. I’ve been through this with that uncle of hers. We can’t give her the kind of education -”

“I’m aware of that.” Joey interrupted. “Mary’s schooling is being taken care of. Thank you very much for that, by the way. If it wasn’t for you discovering her talents she wouldn’t be doing as well as she is right now. But that’s not why I’m here.”

“Why are _you_ here?” Principal Davis leaned back in her chair and pointed her finger at Joey. “Where is her uncle? I heard that they came to a resolution after the custody case. Why are _you_ here discussing Mary?”

“Probably because you’ve dealt with Frank before.” Joey chuckled and tried to lay on the charm. “I thought that I’d make a pretty decent buffer between you two.” Principal Davis seemed to agree in a snarky way, but Joey let it slide and instead chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I haven’t even run this by him yet. I just figured that I would bring this idea to you first, and then sell Frank on it later.”

“You thought that I would be more leveled headed and mature?”

Joey gulped again and slowly nodded her head. She didn’t like selling out Frank like that, but she was here for Mary, not to defend Frank’s bad attitude.

“Mary’s education is going very well, she is being challenged and she doing remarkably well. You were right, even though Frank would rather eat his own shoe then admit it to your face.”

“Mr. Adler is a very _interesting_ man.”

“He only wanted the best for Mary. But he’s a stubborn ass, sometimes.” Joey smiled and tried to project as much pleasantness as she could to hide her contempt for that stuck up woman. “I can only imagine what your experience with him was like. But, since the custody case, he has come to the same conclusion that everyone else has. Mary’s education has to be different, because _she_ is different. But being different doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Being different doesn’t mean that she has to give up being a child, as well.”

“I don’t know what Mr. Adler told you, but that was never my position.”

“So you would agree that Mary needs balance in her life. Friends her own age? Age appropriate experiences?”

“Why yes, of course.”

“Well, I was hoping if you would consider including Mary in some of the more social aspects of education. Parties, fundraisers, dances, holidays, school plays, and clubs? Maybe PE classes or even art and music? That kind of thing. Things that they don’t offer in her college. I’m not even sure logistically how any of that would work. I’m not sure if an ‘honorary student’ is even a thing. I just truly believe that education is far more than just books and tests, it’s about taking the whole child’s develop into consideration.”

“I appreciate you coming down here, Miss. Kincade. But what you’re asking if highly out of the ordinary. You might not be aware of the paperwork, insurance, and funding that goes into having each one of those kids walk through those doors. I’m wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Look, just look into it. I haven’t said anything to her. If it doesn’t work out...she’ll be okay. You know as well I do that Mary is very talented and she is going to do great things one day, I just know that Howard School can still play a major role in her development.”

“This is highly irregular. I have a whole school to run.” Principal Davis protested, but Joey could see that she was, somewhat, getting through to her. Principal Davis knew she could help, but didn’t see what was in it for her.

“Of course you do. These kids are very lucky to have you looking out for their interests.” Joey praised and tried not to choke on her pride. Frank had been a very good judge of character when it came to that woman and Joey hated having to butter her up to get what she wanted. “I just know that helping out a gifted child like Mary could really be worth your time. Before she died, Mary’s mother solved a highly sought after millennium problem and many teachers and tutors, and schools helped her get there. There isn’t an article written about Mary’s mother that doesn’t list all of them in great detail. If Mary were to follow in her mother’s footsteps, Howard School would surely play a pivotal role in her success.”

Joey had hoped that appealing to her more opportunist nature would convince her. Being associated with greatness appeared to have sparked the principal’s interest, but she started to shake her head and Joey knew she had failed.

“Wait!” Joey was suddenly hit with an idea. “Did I hear you right, before? Are you in need of a photographer?”

\--------------------------------------

Joey hugged herself as she walked back to her car and tried not to squeal or do a happy dance in the middle of the elementary school parking lot. Not only had the principal agree to get creative and try to figure something as far as Mary was concerned, but Joey had also landed herself a photography job.

To add to her embarrassment of riches, Roberta had texted Joey to let her know that her mother had made it through her triple bypass surgery and was healing well. Joey had gotten the name of the hospital from her mom and had already ordered Roberta’s mother a cute bouquet of sunflowers from her, Frank, and the kids before she had even gotten her keys out of her purse.

Joey couldn’t believe what she had been able to accomplish on her lunch break and, with 15 minutes to spare, she also had time to pick up a coffee for herself and a few of Sheryl’s favourite pastries.

Afterwards, when Joey picked up Mary and Sam from school, the three of them headed to the grocery store. Joey was still on a high and wanted to cook something special for everyone that night. So after a quick text to her mom, she had a list of all of the ingredients necessary to make her mother’s famous lasagna; knowing that Frank would love it.

Joey had a great time with the kids grocery shopping and, when Mary expressed some interest in learning how to cook, Joey’s luck continued when she happened to find Mary a small child size apron near the checkout.

By the time Frank and Gus walked through the door that evening, Joey was putting the lasagna in the oven and Sam (who was supposed to be placing the dinner rolls on the table) abandoned his small task to happily greet them. Because they had been listening to one of Ed’s old Tom Petty records, Joey had barely even heard them until Frank playfully roared when he picked Sam up.

Joey just beamed at them; her little dudes were the coolest. She hadn’t been expecting Frank home so early, but Joey counted Frank’s timing as another win.

“Hey, you look cute, kiddo.” Frank gave a half hearted smile to Mary who was standing on a chair in her new apron tossing the garden salad in Joey’s huge yellow salad bowl that was almost as big as she was.

“Hey, big guy, do you want a beer. I picked some up after work.” Joey sweetly asked as she cleaned her hands in the sink and refilled Gus’s water bowl now that her furry friend was back home.

Frank stepped into the kitchen and put Sam down on the ground, but instead of answering her, he sighed and pressed his lips together.

He seemed tired, Joey thought to herself and assumed that the poor guy must have had a long day at work. Frank had been working overtime all week long and it must have been catching up with him.

“Here ya go.” Joey beamed as she handed him a beer and quickly kissed his cheek. “I just popped dinner in the oven. It’ll be awhile, so if you wanted to grab a shower here again, go for it.”

Between cooking for Frank, and having a cold beer waiting for him when he came home, Joey was starting to feel like a happy domestic June Cleaver. But even though she loved doting over him, she couldn’t wait to have a minute alone with him so she could tell him about her day and find out how he felt about Mary possibly attending public school again. Hopefully, he’d be more amenable to the idea after a hot shower and a full stomach.

Frank sighed again and took a long pull from his beer then headed straight for her bathroom without saying a word. Joey was more concerned than offended that he hadn’t kissed her back or even really look at her since he came home. That wasn’t like Frank at all.

But before Joey could worry about it for too long, the phone rang and Joey found herself laughing when Mary answered it; announcing, “Kincade residence, what’s cookin’?”

“Hi, Jessie!” Mary giggled into the phone. “Not for a while yet, the timer says 45 minutes. Joey says that it should taste just like yours...Oh I _totally_ helped!....CHOCOLATE CAKE! Oh you bet! We’ll be right there! You’re the best!...okay, I’ll hold his hand. Sam’s pretty smart, he’s not going to run out onto the road, but I’ll keep an eye on him anyway...K...bye, Jess!”

As it turned out, Jessie had started baking right after Joey had texted her from the grocery store and had doubled her recipe when she found out that her daughter had been planning on cooking a special meal and had enlisted Mary and Sam’s help to ice both cakes for her. Joey suspected that her mother was testing out cake recipes for the joint birthday party that she’d been planning for Mary and Sam, and she found Jessie adorable in her new grandmother role.

“My mom saved the day, as usual.” Joey smiled as she helped Sam get on his shoes. “Be good, okay.”

“I’m always good for grandma Jess!” Sam happily protested and giggled when Joey rubbed her nose against his.

“Then why aren’t you always good for me then, my little troublemaker!” Joey laughed at her happy little boy.

“Maybe because you don’t bake us chocolate cakes!” Mary teased and ran out the door with Sam before Joey could catch her and tickle her.

Joey was still smiling at Mary’s sassy little attitude when she walked towards the bathroom and heard the shower running.

“Knock, knock. You descent?” Joey playfully sung out as she peaked her head into her steam filled bathroom.

“I would think not. Wearing clothes would kinda defeat the purpose, don’t cha think.” Frank humorlessly stated as she closed the door behind her.

“You okay?”

“Just peachy, Joe.” Frank sneered with an edge in his voice. “Is there any reason for me not to be okay?”

Joey was not willing to let Frank’s fowl mood ruin her day and she quickly peeled herself out of her clothes and jumped into the shower behind him.

“WHOA!” Frank nearly shouted when she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close.

“The kids are at my mom’s, chill out, grumpy.” Joey explained with laughter in her voice. His whole body felt tense when she kissed his bare back but she loved having him in her arms. She knew something was bothering him and would do anything to fix it. “Please talk to me. Why are you so...so...extra Frank like?” Joey asked as she started to massage his tense shoulders.

“I dunno. Maybe because my girlfriend is sneaking around behind my back!” Frank snapped and shrugged her hands away from him. “I’d say that would make a man pretty fuckin’ grumpy. How was the dear Principal Davis today?” Frank bitterly asked as he leaned forward and let the water run over his face. “Is she still making children cry? And you wanna send Mary back to that place? Great fucking idea!”

“Shit! Frank.” Joey’s heart sank and she’d been sent reeling. She knew she had fucked up badly. But how in the world had Frank find out about her meeting with Principal Davis before she had a chance to tell him? It had only happen a few hours ago and Principal Davis had said that it would take her days to figure out how to enroll Mary. “I was going to tell you. I was going to tell you after dinner, I swear. How did you even find out?”

“Bonnie came by the resort all bouncy and happy. She’s thrilled!” Frank spun around to face her. He was aroused and fully hard, so it was nice for Joey to know that she still had a physical effect on him, but Frank was still furious with her nonetheless. “I just stood there like an idiot while she went on and on about childhood milestones and how proud she was of me and how Mary was going to be such a well rounded kid! She thought that I was making a great fucking decision! Only it wasn’t my decision, was it!”

“Oh my god! Please, let me explain.” Joey whimpered. That Boston accent that she had found so adorable when he was happy was making her panic now that he was mad; since she knew that his accent was only that thick when he couldn’t control himself. “This isn’t how this was supposed to play out.”

Frank held out his hand to motion for her to stop. He was livid, but Joey’s lip started to quiver and Frank felt his anger start to slip away but he wanted to hold on to it for a little bit longer and finally express all of the frustration he had felt but couldn’t let out in front of the kids.

“Bonnie told me all about it. Enroll Mary in a limit capacity. Clubs, sports, concerts, yadda yadda...then maybe, if we’re lucky, they can phone my mother again and she can try and take Mary again.”

“I promise, Frank. I promise that I was going to tell you.” Joey implored him. “I didn’t even know if was possible and I didn’t want to get Mary’s hopes up in case it didn’t work out. She’s been so jealous of her friends lately…”

“I know she has.” Frank huffed and had to look away from her. He had noticed the same thing from Mary as well and, in his heart, he knew that Joey’s idea had been a good one, but he still felt betrayed by her.

But Frank hadn’t been prepared to confront Joey while they were both naked and in her shower. His body had betrayed him and they obviously both knew that he wanted her badly, but there was nowhere to hide. Frank was frustrated and confused, he couldn’t stop looking and her nakedness and found her beauty very distracting, but he was still pissed off.

“But you should have said something to me first.” Frank snapped. “This isn’t your place. What were you thinking! She isn’t your kid!”

“I know that.” Joey whispered. It felt as though he had slapped her across the face with his words and warm tears fell from her eyes and mixed with the spray from the showerhead. She was terrified that she was going to lose him, and it would be all her fault. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know that you love her….” Frank tried to concede a little bit. He felt like an ass when Joey started to cry. He knew that her heart had been in the right place but losing control was an impossible feeling for him to deal with maturely.

“I’m not used to these feelings, Frank.” Joey sobbed and rubbed her eyes. “I do love her and, to be honest, sometimes it does feel like she’s mine. Maybe I was wrong, but I didn’t meet with the school to hurt you and there’s no way in hell I would ever let what happened before, happen again. I really hated not telling you. I just...I just…”

Joey sucked in her bottom lip and tried to stop crying long enough to get her words out. Frank’s eyes had soften towards her but she still needed to pull herself together to explain herself before his wall went up and he stopped listening.

“I just really _really_ wanted this for her, Frank. And I know you hate that woman and, for the record, I totally can see why. That principal is terrible. But I put up with her, so that you wouldn’t have to...but you’re right, I should have told you before I went in there. I was trying to help, but it wasn’t my place...I had no business...”

“Damn it. I want to do this with you, Josephine. I really do.”

Joey’s heart skipped a beat when Frank used her full name and took a step towards her and grabbed her face and held it in both of his hands. She had never loved a man the way that she loved him and she wanted so badly to be worthy of him and have him forgive her, but she had no idea how to fix this. Frank had always been very honest with her about his flaws, and she knew that forgiving her would be almost impossible for him.

“Do what?”

“All of it.” Frank tried to swallow down the hard lump in his throat as he confessed what was in his heart. Joey was his best friend and he hated that he had made her cry but he needed her to know that she had crossed a major line with him. “I want to do _all_ of this with you. I want to share everything in my life with you. I want you to love Mary like she’s your own. But I gotta trust you. I would never do anything like this with Sam and you know that I love that kid, too.”

“You can trust me.” Joey professed quickly before Frank dove for her lips and kissed her so hard that their teeth clashed. “I wanted to share everything with you, too.” She mumbled against his lips as his kiss became more aggressive and his beard started to scratch against her skin. She relished the feeling of his affection and couldn’t help but to be turned on. Her addiction to him never ceased to amaze her, even in times like this.

Frank turned his attention to the rest of her body and started to passionately kiss and suck down the side of her neck as he groaned in delight from the back of his throat. His hands were all over her body and weren’t gentle in the slightest as he pulled her against him and tried to close any distance between them. He wasn’t sure where to go from here, all he knew was that he loved Joey and that he wanted to forgive her but had no idea how to.

Inside, Frank was a giant ball of conflicting emotions, he was still angry and hurt but he couldn’t help but want to turn his brain off and simply indulge in the beautiful sexy naked woman in front of him. It had been the only time in his life that the only person capable of truly comforting him had been the one that had hurt him in the first place.

“I’m so sorry, Frank.” Joey raked her fingers through his wet hair and pulled his face away from her neck and made him look at her. She wasn’t sure if she had been forgiven or if he was avoiding the situation with sex. “I told you before that I wanted to go through the hard stuff with you, too. We can make this work, I know we can. I love you so much. I know I made a mistake, but I still want you on my team, Adler.”

Something switched behind Frank’s eyes as he looked down at her. His hungry passion was still there, but as he studied her face, Joey saw his love for her there as well. But he also looked so helpless and vulnerable that she started to cry again. Hurting him had never been her intention and she hated herself for putting them through this.

“Shh, Joe.” Frank soothed over and over again as he peppered slow soft kisses along her forehead and down to her face to try and comfort her the best he could, but his journey of loving kisses ended up down her body and, before he knew it, Frank had one of her nipples in his mouth while his hand squeezed and fondled her other breast.

“Fuck, I want you so bad, Frank.” Joey moaned and pushed herself into his hand as his touch became more intense. Knowing that he still wanted her filled her heart in such an important way, but she was worried that this might be their last time together. “I don’t want to lose you. I just found you.”

“You’re still my girl, Kincade.” Frank stopped and pressed his forehead against hers and gave her his best charming smile to reassure her. “God, you’re so beautiful. You’re stuck with me, Joey. I almost feel sorry for you.”

Joey puffed out a sweet laugh and Frank’s heart felt lighter for the first time since Bonnie had visited him at work and unknowingly dropped her bomb on him. In that moment, Frank let himself forgive Joey. It was so easy; he really had no idea how he did it, but the chip on his shoulder was gone and he begin to admire how much she loved his niece and the lengths that she’d been willing to go for her.

“You’re the only one that I wanna be stuck with, Alder. Forgive me?”

“I guess if you can forgive me for accidentally bashing your head against the wall, than I can forgive you for trying to make Mary’s life a little better.”

Joey smiled up at him and if felt great to make her happy again. Frank almost wish he could have enjoyed the moment a little longer. But watching Joey’s sweet happy smile convert into a dark sexy smirk when she ran her hand down his side and took his erection in her hand, made Frank’s breath hitch in the back of his throat. He licked his lips and decided that letting her have her way with him, was definitely the next best thing.

“I don’t have any condoms in here.” Frank sadly reminded her as she stroked him slowly and looked into his eyes.

“I’m still on the pill, but it’s up to you.” Joey purred. They'd had the birth control conversation ages ago and they had both agreed to use condoms until they felt ready to rely solely on her oral contraceptive. “But to tell you the truth, I’d be just as happy to have you in my mouth.”

Frank closed his eyes and enjoyed her touch as she slowly pleasured him under the spray of the hot water. He had always used condoms before, he had never trusted someone enough to go without one, so this would be a first. But, the more he thought about it, the more at peace with the idea he became. Afterall, Frank had already experienced so many firsts with Joey, this would be very fitting considering the fact that he did trust her more than any woman before her. Today’s indiscretion notwithstanding.

“You sure?”

“Uh huh.” Joey nodded her head as she dropped to her knees and used her mouth on him the way that he liked, hell, she used her mouth on him the way that they _both_ liked.

To Frank, her mouth was heaven. He surrendered all control to her and collected her wet hair and moved it away from her face so that he could watch Joey enthusiastically sucked him and run her lips up and down his length and moan every time she took him to the back of her throat.

“Fuck, you’re really _really_ good at that.”

Joey hummed in reply and took in as much of him as she could. Before Frank could formulate a clear coherent thought, he pulled Joey up onto her feet and lifted her up high and had her wrap her legs around his waist. He needed to be inside her and for them to be connected again. Everything was right with the world when they made love. It was a clarity that he needed now more than ever.

He kissed her lips and searched her face for permission, and his heart swelled when Joey bit her bottom lip and started to grind up against him. Joey had an appetite that matched his own, and he loved every second of her challenging him and tempting him.

“You want it?”

“Please, Frank.” She begged as hung on to the back of his neck and ran her teeth along the stubble of his jaw. “I _need_ it.”

That was all Frank needed to hear and, with one single thrust, he was deep inside her. The skin on skin contact felt so amazing that his knees nearly buckled and he had to lean her against the shower wall to keep from dropping her.

“Holy shit. Sorry, this is gunna be quick.” Frank apologized through his gritted teeth. “You feel amazing, there’s no way I’m going last.”

Joey pressed the back of her head against the shower wall and dug her fingers into Frank’s shoulders as he started to fuck her hard and fast while he kissed the inside of her neck. The sounds of their bodies connecting mixed with their moans and curses echoed throughout the bathroom. It was so raw and animalistic that they felt as if they were the only two people on the planet.

It was going to be quick for Joey, as well. All of the intense emotion that she had been feeling just moments before had been channeled into a passion that seemed to consume her. Between that and Frank’s carnal knowledge of her body, she seemed to reach the peak of her climax in record time.

Frank had been so lost in his own pleasure that he’d been surprised when Joey called out and had started to come. Watching her beautiful face lost in bliss sent him over the edge and he had to set her on her feet before he lost control as well.

Joey knew that he couldn’t hold off any longer and quickly dropped to her knees and took him in her mouth again and helped him finish. Having Joey’s big blue eyes look up at him while she made him come was awe inspiring. Frank held her gaze as he came in her mouth and was amazed that he could love her as strongly as he did. He really had no idea that his heart held that kind of capacity and it surprised him every time.

Frank leaned his arm against the shower wall to try and catch his breath and come back to reality, only to have Joey abruptly shoot up and scare the crap out of him.

“Oh my god! The lasagna!” she cried out as she scrambled to get out of the shower and wrestle her clothes on without having dried herself off first.

“Oh shit, well if it’s ruined I’ll take you guys out for dinner.” Frank chuckled as he turned off the water and grabbed himself a towel.

“No! This is my first fancy family dinner! It can’t be ruined! Mary and I made that lasagna from scratch! If it burns she’s gunna kill me!” Joey frantically explained as she rushed out of the room.

“Don’t go breaking your neck, Joe.”

No sooner did the words came out of Frank’s mouth that he heard a loud crash from the hallway and Joey screaming profanities at the dog.

“ _GUS!_ Ouch, Fuck! Oww! Damn it!... ugh...So graceful.” she added saractically to herself.

As it turned out, Gus had been waiting for them to come out of the bathroom and Joey tripped over him and completely wiped out on her way to the kitchen.

“Gus, can’t you see I’m trying to save dinner and reclaim my trophy girlfriend status!” Joey joked from the floor as the golden retriever licked her face.

“You okay?” Frank called out to her as he pulled his pants on and grabbed his shirt off the floor and made his way out. He stopped to pet Gus behind the ears when he heard Joey cheering triumphantly from the kitchen and doing a cheer that sounded a lot like one of the ones that Mary had made up the other day. She was such a dork, but Frank just loved her to pieces.

Joey’s first attempt at a nice fancy family dinner was a narrow success. The edges of the lasagna were a little crisper than her mother’s usually were, but all in all, when the kids returned with their dessert, they all had a great evening together.

As Frank finished his second helping, he listened to Mary and Joey joke around with Sam and marveled at how far they had all come. He had been especially proud of himself, which was a rare and foreign feeling. Not only had Frank let himself be happy and fall in love, but he had also not given up at the first sight of trouble. Joey had been right when she had told them that they had something real that was worth going through the hard stuff for.

Joey caught the happy twinkle in Frank’s eye and could practically read his mind as she reached across the table and took his hand. She silently vowed to herself that she would never go behind his back again. They were a team and she wanted to keep it that way.

After everything that they had been through over the past two days, they both had a feeling that their relationship was now stronger than they had been before. And if the cake that they had for dessert was any indication, the kids had an awesome birthday party to look forward to as well.


	20. "Midnight Melodies"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey and Frank share a romantic night together.

 

Joey stirred in her sleep and reached out across her bed for Frank, only to feel cold sheets in his place.

 _Where is he?_ Her heart seemed to call out the question and mourn his absence before her brain could actually process that she was alone. It was rare for Joey to spend the night with Frank and not wake up in his arms. They always teased each other and mocked their cheesiness, but both agreed that they always seemed to sleep better when they were all tangled up together.

Due to his absence, Joey considered, for a second, that her sleepy mind had played a trick on her and that she’d only imagined that Frank had spent the night with her and that he was really across the street sleeping soundly at his place.

No, she hadn’t imagined their night together, Joey recalled, as her groggy mind start to work properly. Mary and Sam had had a slumber party a few doors down at her mom’s house and she and Frank had gone out for dinner with Alice and Barry.

It had been a slice a heaven, when they’d come home and finished a bottle of Frank’s delicious wine while they'd sat on her living room floor and talked for hours. They had dove into her vinyl record collection and had play faught and wrestled like hyper children. As the night had progressed, however, they might have acted more like drunk idiots as they'd danced barefoot and laughed until their sides hurt. But it had been a happiness that Joey had cherished and had only made her fall deeper in love with her man. She loved learning new things about him and was amazed to discover what graceful dancer Frank was as he'd swung her around her living room and kitchen without missing a beat; like a sexy dashing Fred Astaire.

Frank’s laughter still meant as much to her as the first time that she had heard it that fateful night at Ferg’s. His laugh still had a magically way of making her feel lighter and more carefree. Joey loved breaking him out of his shell and being be silly with him. The playful eyerolls that he directed at her dorkiness were becoming his own personal term of endearment and she loved it. Making him happy, even just for moment, made her feel more accomplished then earning a PhD. She had no idea what she had done in a previous life to deserve that kind of happiness.

Joey stretched out in her bed and noticed that her ribs still felt sore from Frank’s relentless tickles, not to mention the other more tender parts of her anatomy that he had paid particularly close attention to once their play fighting developed into a familiar passion that tended to always consume them whenever they were left alone together. Joey rubbed her thighs together and made a mental note to google beard burn treatments later. Frank was always so insatiably relentless when it came to her pleasure, it was a small price to pay.

Joey rubbed her tired eyes and could have sworn that moments before she had been dreaming of her and Frank dancing a beautiful waltz as a piano player accompanying them. It had been a sweet and romantic dream, but no sooner had she recalled the tune, she heard a few more notes coming from the piano in the living room and realized that the music hadn’t been in her dream after all.

Confused, Joey slowly got out of bed and found her pink fluffy robe in the dark and quietly followed the sound of the notes down the hall. Slowly, but surely, the clumsy notes strung themselves into a melody that Joey recognized; Bach's Goldberg Variations.

She had no idea what was going on, but there was a shirtless Frank, sitting at her old upright piano in his boxer briefs doing a half decent job of remembering the score from memory in the dark. He messed up a few times, but Joey was simply dumbstruck as she leaned against the wall and listened to him stop and start again from the beginning.

“Stalker.” Frank dryly teased into the dark without looking at her.

“Busted.” Joey smiled as pushed herself off the wall and made her way over to the piano and sat down on the bench beside him. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t cha, Adler.”

“Did I wake you?” Frank stopped playing and kissed her temple only to have Joey softly elbow him in the ribs.

“Don’t stop, keep playing.” she encouraged. “You’re good. Why am I only finding out about this now? I thought you hated the piano.”

“I do.” Frank chuckled to himself before he took a deep breath to steady himself and calm his emotions. “I actually really hate it with a deep burning passion. I think I had more fun cleaning out your rain gutters, to be honest.” He added without looking at her.

“Does Mary know you can play?”

“Whoa whoa, don’t get too excited now.” Frank deflected. “It's not like I’m joining in on your little piano parties. I can’t really play. I just sorta remember a little bit here and there. It took a long time to unlearn everything that was drilled into my head, if you know what I mean. But, no, she doesn’t know. That’s the last thing I need, I’d never hear the end of it.”

“She loves your grumpy butt.” Joey yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I know. I’m pretty fond of her, too.” Frank smiled before he kissed the top of Joey’s head. After everything that he had already shared with her, he felt a little bad about not telling Joey about his limited musical talents. But in all fairness, Frank hated thinking about how he had learned to play the piano in the first place. But on the upside, Joey hadn’t seemed to be upset with his omission and now that she was with him and being her adorable self, he started to feel calmer since he’d woken up.

“So what’s going on in that handsome head of yours, huh? Can’t sleep?”

Frank looked over at the clock on the wall and noticed how late it was. Nearly 3am.

“Yeah, sorry. I just had this...this dream.” Frank shook his head and tried not to think about it. He was getting better and better at being himself with Joey, but he cursed his honesty this time. He wasn’t in the mood to appear weak or dwell on his past. “Nevermind, let's go back to bed.” Frank quickly cleared his throat and tried to close up the piano only to have Joey softly place her hand on his to stop him.

“Hey, talk to me. Tell me about your dream.” Frank looked unimpressed and Joey couldn’t help but puff out an amused laugh. “Dude, the first night we spent together, I was talking in my sleep about pancakes and roadmaps. I think we’re beyond all of this embarrassing dream stuff.”

“It wasn’t embarrassing. It just freaked me out and I felt like a little kid again.” Frank admitted a little more than he had intended, again, and tried to dial it back a little. “I’m okay though, it wasn’t a big deal.”

Joey didn’t believe him and chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to figure out what Frank’s dream could have been about. The only clues that he had given her were that he suddenly had the urge to play the piano after having a dream that had made him feel like a child.

“Did you learn to play the piano when you were a kid?” she asked, cautiously testing the waters.

“Evelyn insisted.” Frank explained after he took a deep breath. A big part of him felt relieved that Joey hadn’t let it go. He actually loved that she could always see past his bullshit. “You know what they say, right; music and math go hand in hand.”

“Uh huh. For the most part. I figured that’s why Mary wants to learn so badly.”

“Measures are all about mathematical divisions of time and fractions measure the lengths of notes.” Frank joylessly repeated the words his old piano tutors. He looked so lost in his thoughts, Joey knew that something serious had been bothering him and braced herself.

“Math? Was math your thing, too?”

“No no no no.” Frank shook his head. “Math is fine and all. But before I discovered girls, if I wasn’t sneaking out to play lacrosse or soccer, I usually had my head in a book.”

“Philosophy book?” Joey guessed with a cheeky smile.

“Maybe.” Frank answered as he let out a soft laugh. “Usually some kind of book that made me check out and forget that I was in that house. Or something that tried to explain my meagre existence.”

“Aka, philosophy.” Joey teased as she smiled to herself. Frank was still that way today. Her house was littered with his many novels and philosophy books. She loved falling asleep on his chest while he read. He was so much more than just a boat mechanic.

“Smartass.” Frank smirked. “But Evelyn insisted that I learn to play. She hoped that it would somehow turn me into an intellectual. And, of course, I sucked at it.”

“Frank…”

“She did her best, I’ll give her that. Evelyn hired the best piano tutors and pawned me off to them every chance she got. She practically glued my butt to her grand piano instead of having to look at me. She didn’t give up...whether I liked it or not. Summer vacations were a real blast.” Frank added saractically with a bitterness in his voice. “Maybe that’s why I moved here. It’s like an endless summer, maybe I’m trying to make up for lost time. But I never did crack the code and become the person that she wanted me to be.”

“You’re kidding right? You grew up and became Mr. Professor Smartypants. I doubt you needed a lot of math skills or piano talent to teach philosophy. It’s not like they hand out degrees to just anyone.” Joey scoffed as she rubbed his back and watched his fingers play random notes. “You’re great at what you do now, too. I’m sorry you went through that. Is that what your dream was about?”

“Kinda. I was back in my old brownstone in Boston and I was pounding away on the keys but no sound was coming out. You were there, for some reason, and you were getting more and more disappointed the longer and longer I tried to play for you. You just looked at me like...like...let’s just say, you weren’t very happy with me...I knew that I had lost...Anyway, I woke up in a sweat and I had to walk around and try and shake it off. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

Joey’s heart broke as she imagined a young Frank trying desperately to earn his mother’s love and approval by playing an instrument that he hated. Between what Frank had already confessed to her and pieces that she had been able to put together, Frank’s mother had been completely devoted to his younger sister and had had little time for him growing up.

In Joey’s opinion, Frank’s relationship with his mother had had little chance of surviving after Diane had taken her own life. After years of build up resentment, Frank couldn’t help but blame his mother for abandoning his sister when she'd gotten pregnant and Joey wasn't surprised that Frank had ended up turning his back on Evelyn completely when he'd decided to raise Mary and start a whole new life

But the whole situation made Joey so sad. She not only felt terrible for Frank, but for Evelyn as well. Joey couldn’t help but feel sorry for the woman for not realizing what an amazing son she had. Evelyn ended up losing two children (and a wonderful granddaughter) all at once. But, for as terrible as Joey felt as she gazed at Frank, she vowed not to make the same mistakes with Sam and wondered if she had it in her to mend what Evelyn had broken in Frank.

Sadly, Evelyn had always been unfairly disappointed in Frank because, as smart as he was in his own right, he hadn’t been as gifted as Diane. But for Frank to have a dream where he had disappointed _her_ because he couldn’t play the piano, broke Joey’s heart even more. Joey knew that she wasn’t a perfect girlfriend, but she was confident that her love for Frank wasn’t conditional on him being perfect or passing some test.

“You know that I love you, right? I love you just the way that you are.” Joey reassured him. “You don’t have to be perfect to keep me loving you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Is that what you think my dream was about?” Frank knew that it had been exactly what his dream had been about, but was grateful that Joey had put the pieces together for herself. He had woken up terrified and had been sure that he was going to disappoint her somehow and lose her.

“I dunno, I’m not a shrink or anything. But I’m sure that you loved your mother and you wanted her to love you back...every kid wants that. Failing at something….well, failing at things is normal. But to have that failure tied to a parent’s love...that’s gotta suck. Just know that I’m not her, okay. You don’t have to jump through any hoops for me because I love your grumpy butt just the way it is. But if you ever have a dream like that again, wake me up and I’ll find a creative way to take your mind off of it.”

“I bet you will.” Frank smirked to himself. “But, you’re probably right. I guess that’s kinda how things have always played out for me. Just a constant string of failures and disappointing people...it’s always made me feel unloveable to a certain degree.”

“Not people, Frank. Just one.” Joey pointed out. “Just one woman that was incapable of seeing how wonderful you are. That’s on her, not you. You have so many people that love you.”

“What if I’m all messed up, Joe? I’ve avoided all of this family stuff for years, what if it ends up ruining what we have? Ruining what we have with with us and the kids? I’ve never sorted any of it out, I’ve stayed mad and resentful and that can’t be good for us in the long run. What if I end up taking it out on you somehow?”

“Oh, Frank.” Joey loved that brain of his but she wasn’t sure what to say. Reminding him that there were no guarantees in this world didn’t seem like the thing to say. But she couldn’t imagine Frank being spiteful or vindictive towards her like the way he had admitted treating his mother in the past. “You’re not doing this alone anymore, give us a chance, okay. We’ll deal with all of this together. I’ve got daddy issues and you’ve got mommy issues, remember? Besides, you forgave me the other day. That has to count for something right? I told you before that I want to go through all the hard stuff with you and I meant it. In the meantime, do you want me to beat her up for you?” Joey teased. “I’ll do it, too. I’m not above smacking down an old lady for my man.”

“Fuck, I love you- ” Frank laughed and shook his head at her cuteness. Mary might be a gifted mathematical genius, but Frank was in awe of Joey’s ability to brighten his mood.

“But now I’m giving you nightmares...” Joey playfully sung out to finish his sentence.

“When things have mattered to me, like truly mattered.” Frank tried to explain but he felt his heart get heavy again as he considered how much Joey meant to him. “I’ve always been sure that I was going to mess up. It’s always been just a matter of time. I always felt that way with Mary…

“Shhh, you’re not messing up Mary.” Joey spoke over him as she rubbed his back and felt his sadness start to wash over him.

“...but I really don’t wanna mess us up, Joe.” Frank’s voice broke and Joey swiftly sat up straight and took his face into her hands and turned him so he would look at her. She was determined to hold him together and keep him from falling apart.

“I love you, you big dummy.” She looked into his beautiful blue eyes and tried to make him smile, but he was still so sad. “I don’t just love all of your easy good qualities, which are many by the way. But I love all of the other stuff, too. I love your grumpiness, I love your stubbornness. I love what a sarcastic smartass you are.”

“Thanks.” Frank sniffed.

“Oh come on! It’s like you’re like a sassy old man trapped in the body of an Abercrombie and Fitch model!” Joey laughed. “But I love that you live your life on your own terms and that you give zero fucks. I also love that you care so much about the people in your life that you overthink like a madman. You are loveable, Frank. So so loveable.”

Frank was in awe as he let his heart feel every single one of her words. A tear fell from his eye, but Joey quickly wiped it away with her thumb. She loved that man more and more with every passing day and she hated that he was just waiting for her to all of a sudden see his flaws and leave him. The truth was, she loved him because he had been so willing to share his flaws with her from day one.

“I love you, Frank. I love all of you. I love the rough edges and the perfect shiney parts. I even love those stupid Hawaiian shirts!” She laughed and he smiled against the palm of her hand. “You aren’t perfect, but you let me in and showed me who you are. Do you have any idea how how brave that was? I don’t think I’ve been able to do that with anyone besides you. I see you. I see you and I love you.” Joey had wanted to stay strong for him but she couldn’t hold back her own tears. “You don’t have to worry so much about messing up. You’re not walking on some tightrope with me. Relax, I see you and I’m not going anywhere.”

“What if I don’t deserve you?”

“You probably don’t.” Joey teased as she pulled him towards her and placed a soft kiss on his lips and ran her fingers through his hair. “But you know what, Alder. I probably don’t deserve you either.”

“Yet, here we are.” Frank smiled. “I’m sorry to lay all of this on you. I promise I’m okay.”

“No worries, I like it when you lay on me.” Joey teased and burst out laughing when Frank rolled his eyes at her. “Seriously though, I really don’t want you walking around with so much fear. Not about us anyway, we’re good and I don’t demand perfection. Just you, just the real you.”

“Damn, I swear…” Frank shook his head in amused disbelief. “At first, you were just some experiment. You were just this hot funny girl in a big Led Zeppelin t shirt that I wanted to have more than one night with. I figured I would just show you who I really was, worts and all, and I would just let the chips fall where they may. After the custody case, I was flirting with the idea of being ready for more and having a real big boy relationship. I had no idea that I would end up loving you as much as I do….but Joe.” Frank sighed and looked away. “The more that I love you, the more it freaks me out.”

“Me too.” Joey confessed. “I figured that I would move home and focus on raising Sam. Kevin had me feeling like I was damaged goods and I wasn’t looking for anyone new, I had no idea that you and Mary would change my life like this. I never saw you coming, Adler.”

“You changed our life, too. Mine especially.” Frank added. “I just worry that I’m too much.”

“Too much?”

“The less than glamorous job, all the womanizing I’ve done in this town…the part I played in Diane's death.” Joey gave him a pointed look to express how much it bothered her that he still blamed himself, but he closed his eyes for a moment and continued. “My past leaves a lot to be desired. But I don’t hold much back from you. I’m afraid that I showed my hand too soon. I’ve made so many bad decisions...I mean, how could you possibly…”

“How could I possibly love you?” Joey asked with a comically raised eyebrow. “Fear is a helluva thing, babe. Trust me, okay. You’re not perfect but you’re not some bad guy. You’re the best dad to Mary. I watch the two of you together and I feel like I should be taking parenting notes. The way that you opened your heart to her...the way you’ve opened your heart to me and Sam. All of that shows me what kind of man you are. I’ve never thanked you for how cool you’ve been since we ran into Cam. You’ve dealt with all my daddy issues like a champ and you don’t make me feel like some broken little girl.”

“Well, you’re not.” Frank affirmed. He admired Joey’s strength maybe more than anything else about her at this point.

“You’re heart is…” Joey giggled and shook her head. “You act like you hate cats and then come home with two more. Yeah, you’re pretty terrible, what was I thinking!”

“Well I’m down to just two now. Einstein only has eyes for Roberta.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Joey sighed.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not the prize that you think I am. I’m messed up and I have no idea what I’m doing half the time, but you have never once tried to change me. I’ve never had that before. I’ve always changed a little part of myself to try and make some guy happy, but I don’t do that with you. Kevin wanted a party girl and the guy before him wanted a housewife. The guy before him wanted me to be his mother and the guy before him wanted someone to shout at and control. The worst was the guy before him that used me like an ATM and cheated on my with anything with a pulse. I think I hated that guy the most.”

“Me too.” Frank scoffed. “Or maybe the shouting guy. You take on my mother and I’ll go beat that guy up.”

“The point is, smartass.” Joey smiled and chuckled a soft laugh at his dry humour. “You see the real me the way that I see the real you. You love me even though I’m a clumsy dorky girl that’s trying to figure out how to put down roots and be a mom. I don’t have my shit together either, Adler. It’s okay.”

“You’re more together than you think. In fact, you’re really amazing, Joe. I swear I’ve never met a person that brings out the best of every single person that they come into contact with. The way that Mary looks at you...”

“Hey, don’t go there. Sam is crazy about you, too.” Joey humbly added. Talking about her budding relationship with Mary always squeezed at her heart and she wanted to spread the love around before she started crying again. “See, Everyone is good, Frank. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“What are you afraid of, huh? What keeps that pretty little head of yours awake at night?” Frank asked as he tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

“Me? Gosh...I dunno. Lots of stuff I guess. Before Sam, it was mostly regret that kept me up at night. I made some decisions that a part of me wishes I could take back.”

“Lemme guess, giving up photography?”

“That obvious, huh?” Joey smiled. She loved how in tune Frank was with her in such a short period of time. Kevin had had no idea that she'd missed being a photographer.

“Well, my girl can take a pretty picture. You’re gunna make those teachers look like runway models”

“Ha, we’ll see. But now...I guess my biggest fear is that I’ll ruin Sam’s life. I guess we’ll find out when he’s 18, huh?”

Frank hummed and appeared to be delighted with her answer and Joey elbowed him in the ribs again.

“Oh what? You like that? You think I’m gunna ruin his life? Thanks, Adler!” Joey laughed as she pretended to be upset with him.

“No, baby.” Frank beamed as he wrapped both of his arms around her and kissed her temple again. “You’re not gunna ruin that kid’s life, I promise.” He happily growled against her cheek. “I was just asked the same question awhile ago and I had a similar answer.”

“Well you’re not gunna ruin Mary’s life either. I won’t let you.” Joey playfully attested. “Come to think of it, I don’t think that Mary would let you ruin her life either. That girl is tougher than the two of us combined.”

Frank smirked and nodded and appeared to be very satisfied with her declaration and pulled the belt on her robe and freed it from her waist. He was delighted to find Joey as naked underneath her robe as he had left her earlier in her bed.

“I love you, Josephine.” Frank avowed with a sexy dark richness in his voice that made Joey melt. “I love the way you look at the world and how you love and protect the people in your life. I've only known you as this joyful force of nature that’s always full of life. I love how strong you are and how you’ve dealt with everything that’s come your way. Sam, Mary, the house, even Gus. You keep following your heart and you let yourself grow. I’m so grateful that I get to be a part of your journey. Damn, I really wish I could be more like you.”

“You’re gunna make me cry again, Alder.” Joey whispered with a shaky voice as she fell even deeper in love with him.

“Don’t cry.” Frank whispered back. He wasn’t nearly done professing his love for her, but he also wanted to make her smile. “I also love your extensive collection of vintage band tees and how you can’t hold your liquor to save your life. I also love how you’ve traveled around the world for years and managed to live out of a suitcase, yet you overpack to go to the beach.”

“You’re the worst.” Joey teased as she wiped away a happy tear.

“You aren’t perfect, Kincade, but you’re authentic. There isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t make the world feel brighter to me. I’ve never smiled this much in my whole life. I’ll never be good enough for you.” Joey started to protest but Frank shushed her with a quick kiss and continued. “I’ll never be able to thank you for all that you give me. Let me love you. Let me love your rough edges and your perfect shiney parts, too.” Frank whispered against her lips as he opened her robe wider and felt her silky skin under the palm of his hand. “You told me once that it was easy to love me. But the truth is I can’t seem to remember a time when I didn’t love you.”

“It’s so easy isn’t it?” Joey hummed against his cheek and relish the sweet scratch of his beard against her face. “Fuck, you’re so perfect, Frank. I wish you could see that.”

“You must still be drunk.” Frank chuckled. “No more wine for you.”

“You’re perfect for me, smartass. No one else, but me.” Joey looked him in the eye and practically purred her words. She wanted him again so badly the electric pull that she felt towards him never failed to amaze her.

Frank was in awe of the way she was looking up at him. There was nothing but pure love shining up at him. He couldn’t get over the fact that she actually loved him. Loved the messy and imperfect him. Maybe that had been the key all along. Not to be a perfect person, but to be a perfect match for another person. Flaws and all, no tests or hoops required.

“Let’s go back to bed, Frank. Let me love you.”

There was something in her voice that ignited a primal passion inside him. Frank roughly kissed her lips and dipped his tongue into her mouth. Hearing her softly moan into his mouth excited him and made him tilt her head to the side to deepen their kiss. He felt as though he was getting swept away in their kiss and his heart started pound in his chest. He quickly stood up from the piano bench and picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom.

Joey continued to kiss and suck along the side of his neck as she raked her fingers through his floppy hair. She couldn’t get enough of him either and vowed to make sure that he knew just how much he meant to her.

She wanted to put all of his fears to rest and make sure that he never had a nightmare like that again.

\---------------------------

“Do you ever think that I’ll get a chance to meet her?” Joey asked as she fell down into her pillow, a half hour later, completely satisfied.

“Who?”

“Your mom, silly.”

Frank was horrified by the timing of Joey’s question. Joey’s breath was still shaky and Frank was still trying to catch his breath. His post coital glow suddenly took a huge nose dive.

“We are _not_ talking about my mother right after sex, Joe. What the hell!” Frank nearly shouted with his Boston accent thicker than usual. “Is that what you were thinking about a few moments ago?”

“Of course not!” Joey giggled. Five minutes ago, they had been in the middle of acts that would have made a porn star blush. She loved that their sex life was such equal parts sexy fun and romantic closeness. Evelyne Adler had been the furthest thing from her mind.

But the more horrified Frank looked, the more a big playful smile stretched across Joey’s face and Frank impulsively threw his pillow at her.

“Do you think she’ll like me?” Joey hopefully asked as she caught Frank’s pillow and threw it back at him.

“I would hope not.” Frank dryly stated. Joey looked so playfully upset, Frank couldn’t help but smirk at her cute exaggerated pouty lip as he laid down beside her. “She’s hated every girl she’s ever met, save one.” Frank explained as he ran his thumb along her full bottom lip. “For some reason, she loved the one that managed to totally break my heart. In fact, I think that the two of them are still close. So I’d rather have her hate you as well, if it’s okay with you.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

Joey’s eyes looked so innocent and blue as he watched the wheels started to turn in her head. Frank hated the idea that Evelyn could hurt her with her disapproval, even from afar.

“Hey, I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. I know what it feels like to not be that woman’s favorite person. She sets the bar unattainable high.”

“I know, it’s just that I’m totally crazy about her son and her granddaughter. You Adlers are kinda awesome. I’m just curious about her, but she doesn’t have to like me. I’ll survive.”

“I like you.” Frank added with a charming smile. “In fact, I’m kinda crazy about you.”

“I know...you just demonstrated that fact beautifully.”

“You wanna know what your mom wanted to talk to me about that night after her big family dinner?” Frank asked as he got more comfortable in her bed.

“Only if you want to tell me.” Joey lied. She was actually dying to know, but was trying to act like a grown up but Frank saw right through her.

Frank slyly smiled and decided to finally spill the beans. He had been meaning to tell her anyway and this was as good a time as any. Besides, he really wanted to make her smile.

“Jessie apologized for not doing more for me and Mary during the custody case. I guess she was a little shocked by the whole thing and focused on taking care of Roberta.” Frank explained. “Now that I know about Cameron, I guess it hit close to home.”

“Ya. That sounds like, Ma.” Joey proudly smiled. “Always taking care of everyone else and feeling guilty when she can’t fix everything for everyone. She really did love Cam. It was hard on her when Mitch took him away.”

“Well, she thanked me for making you so happy. Apparently, you were a terrible depressed mess when you moved home and you only started smiling once you met me.” Frank bragged with a big toothy smile and laughed when he received a playful shove in reply. “But we made a deal, ya big bully.”

“Bully! I’ll show you bullying!” Joey challenged with a big smile as she pounced on him and laid down flat against his chest. “A deal? What? You and my mom?” Joey asked with her chin against his.

“Ya. She kinda figured that if we kept on the way that we were going, that you would want to meet Evelyn one day and it made her nervous, but I promised to look out for you.”

“Awww, Alder.” Joey cooed. “What was her end of the deal, huh? Did she promise you endless lasagna?”

Frank loved Joey’s laugh. He looked into her eyes and enjoyed her giggles while he tucked some of her wild crazy hair behind her ears.

“She promised to try and make up for not being around much during the custody fight, and maybe fill in where she could and be the kind of mother that I never really had.” Frank softly explained in a near whisper. “All of the sweet sappy stuff that I was expecting from Jessie.”

“She’s the best, huh?” Joey whispered back.

“Damn near close to it.” Frank sighed. “You Kincade women are something else.”

“It’s okay to be happy you know. You deserve good things.”

“Right back at cha, Joe.”

“Speaking of good things, feel free to keep waking me up in the middle of the night with some more Bach. Or maybe next time a little Mozart?” Joey teased with a giddy smile.

“I’ve always liked Chopin, actually.” Frank confessed with a big yawn. “But don’t count on it.”

True to form, Joey ended up falling asleep on top of Frank’s chest and woke up that morning wrapped in his arms. Exactly the way that she wished she could do every morning for the rest of her life.

 


	21. "Softie"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey consider their future while they spend time with the kids before their joint birthday party.

Frank wasn’t sure which one of his girls was more excited for Mary and Sam’s joint birthday party that weekend: Mary or Joey. In her defense, Frank could tell that Joey was trying her hardest to play it cool and act like an adult, but he was getting better and better at reading her moods and he could tell that she was just beside herself and bursting with happiness the closer the date of the party came.

Joey had been practically glowing for days. Even a blind man could have noticed how excited she’d been, so Frank tried not to gloat too much inside. Frank loved watching how becoming a mother continued to change her and how she embraced all of Sam’s milestones with loving pride.

This would be the very first birthday of Sam’s since becoming her foster son and Joey confessed that she’d been trying to soak it all in so she wouldn’t forget a single thing. He found her heart so profoundly honest and beautiful. She was adorable and he couldn’t help himself from kissing her when she shared that part of herself with him. Even though Mary would playfully gag and roll her eyes if she caught their public displays of affection. He knew that this party was important to Joey and, therefore, it started to become important to him as well.

Overall, Frank couldn’t help but be influenced by Joey’s positivity and he found himself so grateful that Mary got an opportunity to be included in all of the festivities. He hadn’t really been much of a party planner in the past. He loved Mary to pieces of course, but the majority of Mary’s birthdays had gone by with a store bought cake and trip to the toy store after he’d taken her and Roberta out to eat at her favourite restaurant. Keeping things low key and private had always been more of his and Mary’s style. Besides, Mary would have needed friends her own age to invite to a birthday party.

But this year, since her and Sam’s birthday’s were so close together, Mary was going to be surrounded by friends and loved ones and celebrated the way that her birth deserved to be celebrated. Between school and Girl Scouts, Mary had more than enough friends to invite. The more Frank thought about it, the more choked up he became and figured that all of Joey’s sentimentality must be rubbing off on him.

The evening before the party, the four of them were hanging out at his house after dinner. The kids were busy playing and Joey was washing his dishes while Bob purred and rubbed himself against her legs as she worked. Frank was leaning against the counter half listen to Joey go on and on about all of the things that she had bought for Mary and Sam and wondering out loud what her mother had planned for the party. Frank tried to pay attention, but he couldn’t seem to stop his mind from wandering to his sister.

“What’s wrong? I’m a talking too much?” Joey laughed. “I’m just all keyed up, I’ll stop. I must be annoying the hell outta you.”

“No no.” Frank smiled and shook his head and took a dish from her, dried it off and put it in his cupboard. “I’m sorry. What were saying about a petting zoo? Yeah, I doubt it, the neighbours would have a fit.”

“Well Ma isn’t letting anything slip so anything is possible.” Joey playfully warned with a wink. Frank smiled at her but she could tell that something was bothering him, so she reached out and took his hand and rubbed her thumb across his knuckles and gave him her full attention. “What cha thinkin’ about?”

“Diane.” Frank admitted with a more genuine smile. He loved that, after all these years, he finally had someone to share his feelings with. “I just wish that she could see all of this. That she could be a part of it...that...that she could have met you.” He added with a trace of sadness and longing in his voice. “I really wish she could’ve met you.”

“I wish I could have met her, too.”

“Be careful what you wish for. You two wouldn’t have gotten along at all.” Frank added with a sharp laugh.

“What! Nice, Adler.” Joey teased with a playful smack.

“I can just hear her in my head asking me in her snarky way what I saw in you. She could be so stubborn and difficult at times. She was raised to know that she was different from other people and she lacked in a lot of social graces. So snobbiness was sorta her default mode when she first met people.” Frank sighed and tucked some of Joey’s hair behind her ear. “But you know what, I think that she would have been jealous of you to a certain degree. I really think that you’re the kinda person that she wanted to be…if things had turned out differently.”

“Do you think I would have ever won her over?”

“Absolutely.” Frank looked her in the eye and emphatically stated with confidence. “You would have been brave enough to stick it out and she would’ve seen for herself how good you were for me. Damn, I wish that she could see the way that you are with Mary.”

“Mary is very loved. Between you, Roberta, and my mom… She’s such a lucky girl. Gosh, you know you’re really giving that little girl everything that she needs to have a full and happy life. A loving and supportive family, a challenging education and, once Principal Davies gets back to us, Mary is going to have a wonderful social life fit for an eight year old girl. You’re doing an amazing job raising her, you know that right? I really think that Diane would be as proud of you as I am.”

Frank just smiled his shy smile instead of answering her. Joey had an uncanny way of pulling his dark heavy thoughts out into the sunlight and shaking off the dust and making them a little less heavy. Joey believed in him. It was a strange feeling but he really liked being the man that she loved.

The hope that Joey always gave him when she spoke like that was still alive and well and making his heart ache with his love for her. Frank wrapped his arms around her waist and (after he told Mary to cut it out with her gagging noises from the other room) he left slow lingering kisses along Joey’s neck and shoulder as she finished washing the dishes.

Frank wasn’t sure how long he had held Joey in the kitchen like that. He was so lost in his thoughts while he considered all of the ways that having Joey in Mary’s life would help his niece as she grew up. Joey wanted Mary to kick ass in the world of mathematics, but she also wanted to her to be a kid. It was a balancing act that Frank had been trying to pull off for years, but Joey’s confidence made it seem a lot more attainable. For once, overthinking and being living in his head had yielded some positive results.

After she had finished with the dishes, Joey played with Fred and Bob and set out to shower them with as much attention as she could. Mary and Frank had spent so much time at her house with Sam and Gus and she could tell that the poor cats were starting to feel neglected. Bob had stuck to her like glue the minute that she had walked through the door and it broke her heart.

She wished that she was brave enough to ask Frank if they could just bring the two cats over to her house, but she didn’t want to appear over presumptuous. She knew that if she brought up how much time the four of them had spent together over the past couple of months, the subject of possibility moving in together would come up and she wasn’t sure how a conversation like that would play out.

It was true that going to bed and waking up with Frank was the best feeling in the world and the kids were more than used to seeing the two of them together and in full couple mode. But the truth was, life was just simply better when the four of them were under the same roof. Joey loved watching Frank and Mary cuddle on her couch in the evenings and checking in on Sam and finding Mary reading to him. Seeing their faces on a daily basis was was just as important to Joey as seeing Sam’s.

Speaking of Sam, Frank and Sam were essentially joined at the hip and her foster son was quickly becoming Frank’s little mini me with Sam’s new found interest in boats and motors. There was a reason that hot men and babies were famous for making women melt. Watching Frank loving and patiently care for Sam while they hung out pulled at her heartstrings every single time. Joey didn’t even want to think about how stinking cute it was to see the two of them dressed alike when they went fishing together.

But the same could probably be true for her and Mary. Early morning yoga sessions with Mary were becoming a daily thing and something that Joey looked forward to. She loved having someone to cook with and bringing home extra flowers from work always made Mary smile. Mary was truly extraordinary and, to Joey, it had nothing to do with her aptitude for mathematics. Mary made her smile every single day.

Joey automatically grocery shopped for four now and knew what everyone liked to eat and what they hated. Frank had helped her with the house renovations from day one so it had always felt like it was their house and not just hers and having her spare room be referred to as 'Mary’s room' just felt so normal.

The four of them fit together so well but Joey was worried that if she brought up the subject of moving in together that Frank would take one look at her and see that she really, _really_ wanted them to officially move into her house more than anything. Frank always seemed to read her mind and it was such a big decision. Joey was so scared that moving so fast would freak him out and cause him to pull away. Instead of pushing the subject, Joey just had to hope that Frank would come to the same conclusion that she had at some point.

In the meantime, extra playtime with the cats, while Frank played with Sam outside, would have to do...even though she had mentally planned where they could put their litter box in her place.

Joey was multitasking as she sat on the floor, tossing a ping pong ball to Fred while Bob was purring loudly in her lap. She divided her attention between the cats and listening to the conversation that Mary was having with Roberta (who was still in Louisiana) from her laptop.

Unfortunately, Roberta’s mother had had a few setbacks and there had been some drama with other members of her family, so Roberta had been gone longer than she had originally intended.

Joey and Mary had already let her know over Skype that, although she was very missed, that they had everything under control at home and that she should take as much time as she needed. Roberta was grateful that they were all holding down the fort for her, but she hated that she was going to miss Mary and Sam’s birthday party.

Joey felt terrible for her and promised to take a ton of pictures and suggested that the four girls have a girls day once they were all reunited again. Joey watched Mary’s face light up when her suggestion had put a huge smile on Roberta’s face. Joey really missed Roberta and valued her opinion and couldn’t help but wonder how she would feel if her and Frank moved in together.

As if on cue, Frank came back inside with Sam and Joey had not only Bob the cat in her lap, but her smiling happy little boy as well. Frank had discovered that Sam liked baseball and the two of them had been playing catch outside and had made a little makeshift baseball diamond for the little boy to practice running around the bases.

Little did Sam know, Frank had bought him his own tee ball set and baseball mitt for his birthday. Between Joey’s now finished porch swing and the gifts he had bought for kids, Frank was looking forward to putting a smile on everyone’s face the next day.

Frank sighed as he watch Joey and Sam cuddle on his living room floor. They were the best, but he was becoming painfully aware of how small his house was. Joey didn’t seem to mind whenever she came over, but he’d get dirty looks from Mary whenever the extra people would inevitably distract her from her studies. Mary wasn’t shy about asking to go across the street to finish her assignments in Joey’s guest room.

Between having a quiet place to study and the fact that Joey had better Wi-Fi, their little place just couldn’t compete. Frank couldn’t fault Mary though, he prefered it at Joey’s, too. Especially since his hot water tank lasted maybe five minutes before it cut out on him after Mary showered. Frank knew that it needed to be replaced, but it would have to wait until Roberta got back.

Frank had never really considered what would happen if they outgrew their little house. He never saw Joey and Sam coming, let alone a full grown golden retriever, who he was sure was lonely and missing everyone across the street by himself. Frank had no intention of trimming down any of his new loved ones, so patience would have to be practiced on his part because this small house was all that he could afford at the moment.

“Worried about Gus?” Joey asked from the floor when she caught Frank looking across the street again with concern. Ever since Einstein swatted his nose, Gus had been scared of Frank’s house even though Joey tried to convince the golden retriever that the angry cat didn’t live there anymore. “He’s fine, you know. You already checked on him twice in three hours.”

“Four and a half hours.” Frank corrected her as he looked out the window again. He did miss his furry friend, but mostly, he kinda missed that homey feeling that he got when they were all across the street at Joey’s place.

Frank shook his head and laughed at himself, Joey was really was turning him into a sentimental fool.

“You said he was fine.” Joey smiled at a grinning Mary sitting on her bed in the corner of the living room. They were both thinking the same thing, it was adorable how concerned Frank was about Gus. He wasn’t the no-nonsense, detached, too-cool-for-school guy that he pretended to be and they both loved that they had caught him being so sweet.

“You’re such a softie, Frank.” Joey teased and Mary started giggling at him. Joey pushed herself off the floor and made her way over to him. “Come on. Let’s go to the beach and watch the sunset. I’ll go grab Gus, I’m sure he misses you, too, Alder.”

\--------------------------------------------

The morning of the kid’s birthday party went by in a blur. Joey woke up and she couldn’t believe the number of people that were in her mother’s front yard helping out first thing in the morning. The party planning seemed to sprawl from her mother’s house and into three other yards.

Tents went up and supplies just kept coming in. The more Joey looked around, the more it felt like her mother had organized a block party and not a birthday party for an eight-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy.

After annoying her mother by asking if there was anything that she could do to help for the fifth time, Joey was banished from the party set up and was sent across the street with Sam to await further orders.

It was still pretty early and she hoped that she and Sam wouldn’t wake up the whole Alder household by stopping by. As luck would have it, Mary had already woken up bright and early and was about to run out to meet them but Joey gave her her best serious look and gestured for her to get back into the house so that she wouldn’t ruin the surprise.

“Happy Birthday, sweetie! But no peeking, Mary berry.” Joey ordered as she ushered her back into the kitchen and kissed the top of her head. Joey didn’t see Frank, but made herself at home anyway and put Mary’s box of cereal back in the cupboard. “It’s gunna take awhile till the party starts. Whaddya say I’ll make you guys some special birthday pancakes.”

Joey ignored the eyerolls that she got from Mary and closed the blinds on all the windows so that she couldn’t spy on all the activity across the street. Joey still couldn’t get over all the people that her mother had roped into helping her set up. Her mother must have been a party planner in another life, the scale of this party was ridiculous.

“You’re gunna have the best birthday, sweetheart.” Joey explained as she found Frank’s big mixing bowl and got to work. “No peeking, I mean it.”

“Fine.” Mary huffed. “I just wanted to see what Jessie has planned for Sam. It’s just a little kid’s birthday party.”

“It’s your birthday too, birthday girl.” Joey smiled, refusing to give into Mary’s sassy mood.

“Ya ya...”

Joey stopped fussing over breakfast and sighed. There was something in Mary’s voice that concerned her so she sent Sam out to the living room and bent down on her knees and tucked Mary’s blonde hair behind her ears and raised Mary’s chin up so that she would look at her and take her seriously.

“This day isn’t just about Sam, it’s about you, too, and my mom really wants you to be surprised.” Joey started to get choked up with emotion as she stared into Mary’s blue eyes that were just as beautiful as her uncle’s. “I don’t think you understand. I’m so happy that you were born, sweetheart. Thank you so much for letting me be part of your day. Being with you today really means a lot to me. You’re only going to turn eight once and I really don’t want to miss it.”

“Really?” Mary whispered.

“Really. I love you so much, Mary.” The big smile that slowly stretched across Mary’s face brought happy tears to Joey’s eyes. “You’re such a sweet girl, I’m so happy that you’re in my life. You and Sam are the best things that have ever happened to me.”

“Frank, too?”

“Meh.” Joey teased with a cheeky smile. “He’s okay, but he’s just icing on the cake. You and Sam definitely have him beat.”

“I love you, too, Joey.” Mary smiled. “I’m really happy that you’re here. Is it really for me, too? I was just so excited for Sam.”

“Of course the party is for you, too! You deserve it.” Joey gushed. “And the fact that you were extra excited for Sam makes me love you even more!”

Joey just knew that she was going to be a giant puddle of sappy tears at this rate so she tried to soldier through it while she made Mary and Sam the best chocolate chip pancakes she could muster. Mary caught her peeking through the blinds and chastised her and Joey couldn’t help but laugh.

Joey suspected that Frank was still in bed snoring away and went in to check on him once the kids were happily eating their breakfast together.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” Joey hummed as she crawled onto his bed and walked on her knees over to his pillow. Frank was shirtless and sleeping on his stomach. He must have known that she was there, but he barely moved. Joey gazed down at him and hadn’t realized how much she had missed him during the night. The odd nights when they slept apart really sucked. “I made breakfast, wake up and play with me. Today’s the big day!”

Frank moaned in protest and squeezed his pillow a little tighter, refusing to open his eyes. Joey just smiled down at him and marveled at how young he looked while he slept. He was just too handsome for words. How could someone so beautiful be her’s?

She lovingly ran her fingers through his floppy hair as she scanned his bare back and shoulders. If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn that his muscles looked leaner and more defined. In fact, the more she thought about it, his clothes had been fitting a bit differently lately.

“Have you been working out?” Joey whispered as she left a kiss on the back of his shoulder.

Instead of answering her, Frank rolled over onto his side and swiftly pulled her against him and buried his face between her neck and shoulder and listened to her giggle. He had been having a fairly R-rated dream about her, but the real thing was a lot better.

“I have this really sexy new girlfriend.” Frank mumbled sleepily into her neck.

“Oh, do tell me more!” Joey smiled played along. “I’d love to meet her one day! What’s she like?”

“You’d love her. She’s gorgeous and she smells so damn good.” Frank groaned as he nuzzled into her hair and smelled her perfume. “She’s also incredible in bed, so incredible, in fact, that she makes me feel old...gotta hit the gym or she’s gunna kill me.”

“Awww, poor baby.” Joey cooed. “I’ll go easy on you next time.”

“You’d better fuckin’ not!” Frank laughed as he squeezed her tighter and tickled her sides. “I’m not hitting the gym at the resort for nothing.”

Joey smacked him to get him to stop tickling her and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close. These were exactly the kind of moments that she had waited so long to feel. Frank was her person and she cherished him in a way that made her chest ache if she thought about it for too long.

Being back in his room made brought back memories of the night they had stayed up all night talking and their first time together. Thinking about either of those nights made her not only emotional and nostalgic, but a little horny as well. Her body never failed to respond to Frank Adler, but they didn’t have time to indulge in each other now; today was about the kids.

“Come on, sleepyhead. You gotta get up. The party doesn’t start till noon. We gotta find a way to keep the kids occupied until then.”

“Do you guys wanna go to my work and take a boat out for a few hours?”

“Who said that Mary is only genius in the family?” Joey teased as she jumped out of his bed and threw his jeans at him. “Come on, smartypants! If we stay in here for too long I’ll be tempted to see if your stamina has increased.”

“Hey.” Frank called out as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back down onto the bed beside him. “I really like you being the first person I see in the morning.”

Joey heart swelled as she linked their fingers together and used her other hand to caress his cheek and run her fingers over his fresh stubble.

“Same here.” Joey knew that this would be the perfect time to ask him to move in with her. Since she wanted his face would be the first thing that she saw every morning, as well. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she chickened out. “I love you so much, Alder. I love the life that we have. You’re the best part of my day.”

“You’re such a softie, Kincade.” Frank teased with a shy smile.

“You started it.” Joey laughed as she leaned in to kiss his lips. It only took a moment for Frank to deepened their kiss as he tilted her head to the side and buried his fingers into her hair.

They both figured that the kids could wait for a few more moments and the two of them quickly made up for not spending the night together.

\------------------------------------

Spending the morning out on the water was a perfect way to unplug and recharge. Frank had a feeling that he’d have to put up with a hoard of screaming children once the birthday party started so a recharge was definitely in order.

The water had always been special to Frank. Being out on the open water gave him a sense of freedom and could clear his head in a way that he really craved. He seemed to do his best thinking with the wind in his face and the sound of the motor raging behind him. Anything seemed possible when he was out there.

Joey looked beautiful with the wind in her hair and her arms around Mary and Sam. Frank had a hard time taking his eyes off of her as a drove. The sounds of the three of them laughing and squealing peeked through over the hum of the motor and gave Frank such a sense of pride.

The pride had been a confusing feeling, at first, until it suddenly hit him. He had a family. The three of them were in fact _his_ family. It was such a simple concept that Frank felt a little foolish that he hadn’t figured it out already.

After the custody case, Frank knew that he couldn’t imagine his life without his niece. But now he could add two other people to that list as well and making them happy by hitting as many waves as possible, made him happy in the purest way.

He loved Sam. In time, Frank had learned that he loved that little boy independent of his feelings for Joey. Sam was so sweet and curious about life and nature. Frank had never met another person that loved animals as much as that kid did. It hadn’t taken long for Sam to completely win him over and earn a giant chunk of his heart. It’s not like he was the kind of guy that kids took to all the time, but Sam wasn’t shy in his affection for him, as well.

In fact, Sam looked up to him and Frank had to admit that he really didn’t hate it. Frank really wanted to watch Sam grow up and protect him the best that he could. The idea of being separated from him bothered Frank in such a profound way. He had to finally admit to himself that he loved Sam as if he were his own kid, there was really no way around it.

He had always appreciated the fact that little family with Mary had no labels. It was true that he loved Mary as if she were his own daughter, but she was in fact his niece and had never called him “dad.”

Maybe it had been the unconventionality of his relationship Mary that had kept him from seeing what was right in front of his face. But now that he had figured everything out for himself, he loved his untraditional family even more.

Frank looked over at his happy family and searched his heart for any doubt or fear and was delighted when he came up empty. This was his life now and it felt pretty good.

He looked out onto the open water as he drove the boat and considered his future without the heavy burdens of guilt and self loathing. If he was going to do this, then he wanted to do it right. He couldn’t be that guy anymore, especially with kids that looked up to him. He had to learn how to forgive himself and move on. The funny thing was, he was starting to believe that love had a way of making the impossible possible.

After their boat ride, Joey was a little disappointed that she hadn’t gotten a chance to say hello to Frank’s boss, Mr. Anderson while they were at the resort. He had been so friendly to her in the past and she loved the way that Frank spoke about him when he told her about his day. But it wasn’t until Frank pulled into her driveway that she understood why Frank had downplayed his boss’s absence.

Joey actually saw the giant red bow before she realized what it was attached to. Everything on the street was filled with so much excitement and colour that she almost missed it. Her mother and her team of merry helpers had everything set up for the party and kids were already arriving and running around, but Joey’s head was spinning.

“What the…?”

“You were right, your mom did get a petting zoo.” Frank laughed as he looked out his window at all of the festivities. “Let’s hope that Mrs. Barber took her allergy meds.”

“Frank, what did you do?” Joey slowly realized that there was a beautiful handmade porch swing hanging from her front porch with that giant red bow and she tried not to cry.

Oblivious to what was happening between their parents, the kids both jumped out of Frank’s truck and happily ran to see Jessie who greeted them with open arms and showered them with hugs and kisses. But Joey sat in the truck with Frank and started to shake.

“Do you like it? Is it _‘little old lady’_ enough for you?” Frank cautiously asked as he took her hand and brought it to his lips. He wasn’t sure if his boss would have gotten the swing all set up in time to surprise her, but good ‘ol Mr. Anderson had come through for him, big time. Frank had to admit that the big giant bow was a nice touch. “Jessie said that she wanted to celebrate you coming home, too. So...welcome home, Kincade.”

“Why did you...I mean, you didn’t have to....Frank this is too…” Joey’s eyes brimmed over with tears until everything got fuzzy and she couldn’t see her beautiful new porch swing out of the truck’s window. _“Home.”_ She whispered to herself and let the meaning of the word sink in.

Joey got out of Frank’s truck and was overwhelmed with emotion and couldn’t stop shaking. She was looking at her dream; a dream that she hadn’t shared with anyone, but Frank and he had gone out of his way to make it come true for her.

“Hey hey, Joe. If you don’t like it I can take it down and you’ll never have to see it again.” Frank explained. Joey was pale and crying and he felt like an ass for springing this on her when she had already been so emotional all day.

“Don’t you dare, Adler.” Joey sniffed through her smile. “This is my dream. You gave me my dream.”

“I guess that makes us even then.” Frank tried to swallow down the emotion that was building in his chest. He’d made women cry before, but never like this. Never happy tears that filled his heart with love and pride. Giving this to Joey was worth every single second of overtime that he had put in and he tried not to cry himself.

“How can we possibly be even?” Joey puffed out a laugh tried to wipe away her tears. “At the very least you’ve earned yourself your endless lasagna!”

“No baby, you’re my dream.” Frank stated quietly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m not good at all the hearts and flowers stuff.” He confessed as he looked into her eyes. “But I do love you and I want to give you everything that you’ve ever wanted.”

“I just want you, baby.” Joey breathlessly explained as she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed the corner of his mouth. Feeling Frank smile against her lips and wrap his arms around her meant everything to her. “I want you everyday, forever. Move in with me. Let’s sit on that porch swing every night and watch the sunset together. All I want is you and Mary and Sam. I don’t need anything else. You’re my home.” She felt almost high and didn’t realize what she said until the words had already left her mouth.

She did it. Joey impulsively said the words and now had to dealt with the fallout of her actions.

Frank stammered and tried to let the idea sink into his head. But the only thing he could think of was that Joey was so much braver than he could ever be. On one side, it was almost euphoric how she could pretty much handle all of the emotionally heavy lifting on her own, but on the other hand, she forced him to have to admit some hard truths every now and again.

“Are you sure?” Frank slowly asked. “I mean it’s not just me, it’s Mary, too.”

“Oh Mary would be moving in too?” Joey sarcastically teased. “No deal then, I wouldn’t want the little girl that I loved more than my right arm to permanently move into the bedroom that I’ve let her completely take over.”

“Take this seriously, Josephine.” Frank sharply chastised.

“I am taking this seriously.” Joey stopped smiling and bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t read Frank’s expression and was worried that she had made a terrible mistake and tried her best to downplay her heartfelt offer. “I’m sorry. I know it’s too soon, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. Thank you for my porch swing, I really love it.” Joey went up a few stairs on her porch and was crushed that Frank hadn’t followed behind her to take a closer look at her new swing. She knew that she had fucked up and wished that she could take it all back.

“I need to talk to Mary about it first.” Frank stated to her back. “But sitting on that porch swing with you is exactly where I want to be every night for the rest of my life.”

“Really!” Joey squealed as she turned around on her heel and jumped down into Frank’s arms.

Frank caught her and the loud public display of affection had the neighbours and party guests awwing and cheering for them as Frank swung her around and kissed her smiling lips.

“You’re my home, too.” Frank whispered in her ear.

They both begrudgingly had to say goodbye to each other in order to get changed for the party and find their respective kids. But not until Joey wrapped her dangling legs around Frank’s waist and kissed the life out of him for making her the happiest woman in the world.

They both agreed, through their passionate kisses, not to say anything to anyone until after the party and Frank had a chance to talk to Mary, but they were both on top of the world. Frank set her down on her feet only to have her jump up on him one last time and kiss him again.

“All of this working out is already paying off.” Frank teased as he readjusted her weight.

“You’re the worst.” Joey laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. They were becoming painfully aware that people were watching them so Frank put her back on her feet and went off to find Mary while Joey bounced up the steps of her porch to get ready.

“Come on, kiddo!” Frank called out to Mary who was still getting the big tour from Jessie and greeting some of her friends from Girl Scouts. “Let’s go home and get changed real quick.”

“Really?” Mary huffed. “I like my outfit already and I was about to get my face painted.”

“Okay, well I still smell like the boat. I’ll be back in five.” Frank glanced at Jessie who gave him a reassuring nod, silently letting him know that of course, she would watch Mary for him and kissed the top of Mary’s head.

Frank happily jogged across the street with a bounce in his step, saying hi to just about every neighbour that he had within a five mile radius. Jessie sure knew how to throw a party Frank amused to himself. Mary could look forward to many years of having her birthday dotted over thanks to Joey’s mom. He just hoped that he didn’t get roped into one of those bouncy houses.

Frank was sure that Mary would love the idea of moving into Joey’s house and he couldn’t stop smiling. Mary loved Joey and, whether she realized it or not, she was already the best big sister to Sam.

 _Mary finally had a family that would let her play the piano everyday._ Frank was so lost in his happy thoughts of his and Mary’s future that he didn’t notice the fancy rental car parked by his house but stopped in his tracks when he looked up and saw a familiar face waiting for him at his front door.

“Frank.” A female british voice called out to him.

“Mother.”

 


	22. "One Big Happy Family" Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn attends Mary’s birthday party and has something important to ask Frank.

  
Frank had to admit, as he looked at his mother standing on his doorstep, that there had always been a small tiny part of him that had been happy to see Evelyn whenever she came back into his life. But, after everything that they gone through that year, he tried to ignore any positive feelings that he still held towards her, however small they might be, and kept his guard up nice and high. Even though they had technically mended fences, and buried the proverbial hatchet, Frank was still suspicious as to her motives and tried not to let that tiny happy part of him show.

He was smart enough to know that she hadn’t undergone any profound change of character, but that little kid inside him still held out the faintest hope that one day she might love and accept him. He hated feeling that weak.

There wasn’t another human being on earth more familiar with the famous wall that he'd put up to protect himself than Evelyn Adler. Frank could have sworn that her posture changed when she noticed his wall go up. In turn, hers went up as well. They were really more alike then he’d ever care to admit.

Frank stood in front of his house and took a deep cleansing breath when he realized that Mary and Sam would never have to go through similar conflicting feelings when it came to Joey. Knowing that the kids he loved wouldn’t relive his experiences gave him a sense of relief. Even though she was still across the street, Joey still managed to comfort him and make him stronger in her absence.

“I take it that the giant hillbilly amusement park across the street is for Sean?” Evelyn quipped when she became annoyed with Frank cold expression.

“Sam. His name is Sam.” Frank dryly corrected her and tried not to show any emotion. “Get used to that name because you’re going to be hearing it a lot. Why are you here?”

“Can’t a grandmother visit her granddaughter on her birthday?”

“Of course.” Frank agreed and tried to project as much fake lightheartedness as he could. “I’m sure you’ll fit right in with all of the hillbillies.” He added with a bit more ice in his voice.

Evelyn rolled her eyes and let out a familiar disappointed sigh. “I was hoping that I could take you and Mary out for lunch.”

“Sorry, but our lunch has been spoken for. That party across the street is for Mary, too. I hope you like hot dogs.”

“You can’t be serious.” Evelyn grimaced. “All of that can’t be for her as well. It looks like the bloody circus has come to town. I told her not to get her hopes up too high.”

“Evelyn.” Frank stood up straighter and became more commanding. “Of course this party is for her as well. Why in the hell would you imply otherwise?”

Evelyn shrugged and pursed her lips together and Frank closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Maybe he should be paying closer attention to the conversations that Mary had with her grandmother over Skype. Joey had pulled him aside that morning at the resort and told him about the heart to heart that she had had with Mary in the kitchen that morning

Mary had been under the assumption that the party hadn’t been for her, as well, and Joey had to put the little girl’s fears to rest. He didn't know where doubt like that would have come from. Mary had always been so confident that she was loved by all the people in her life. He should have known that his mother had the ability to put that kind of uncertainty in his niece’s head. Afterall, she had been doing it to him for years.

“You can stand down now, Frank.” Evelyn curtly dismissed his disapproval. “I didn’t come here to fight. From what Mary told me, the woman was throwing a party for her grandson. I think you’d agree that Mary deserves more than to be afterthought on her birthday.”

“Trust me, the last thing Mary is to Jessie is a damn afterthought. Since when do you even care about birthdays?” Frank snapped. “I can’t recall them ever being your style.”

“I’m…” Evelyn sighed and softened for a moment. “I’m trying.”

“Trying? Well...okay.” Frank could tell that her confession was sincere and offered her an olive branch. “Look, you’re more than welcome to join us. Mary has been looking forward to this party for awhile. All of her friends are already there. We can’t leaving to go to lunch.”

“Friends?” Evelyn asked as if she were unfamiliar with the concept.

“Yes. Friends. My position on her childhood hasn’t changed.” Frank explained. “Mary is getting advanced classes, and all of the algebra she can sink her teeth into. But we’re trying to give her a normal life as well. Not much has changed in that regard.”

“Except that you said ‘we.’” Evelyn pointed out.

“What?”

“ _‘We are trying to give her a normal life.’_ ” Evelyn repeated. “You haven’t been apart of a ‘we’ in a very long time. Joey is it? How is that going?” Frank rolled his eyes and looked away, but nonetheless, she couldn’t resist playfully taunting him. “It’s going well, I take it. Or does she always climb all over you in public like a overly hormonal teenager?”

“You were spying on us?” Frank was more embarrassed than angry, but he knew that this wasn’t the time or place to explain to his mother that the reason him and Joey were making out so unabashedly across the street moments ago was because they were celebrating moving in together.

“Hardly.” Evelyn smirked at him. “Unless you think that everyone on the street was spying on you as well.” His mother continued to smirk at him with knowing eyes and Frank blushed and looked away again. “You look...you look good.” Evelyn surprisingly praised as she looked him up and down. “Are you working out? I see that you took my advice and started wearing sunscreen.”

Frank sighed and dropped his shoulders and motioned for her to come inside. He knew that this day would come when he had to tell his mother about Joey and Sam. He just wished that it didn’t have to be on such an already monumental day.

“Good thing that I already took a Benadryl on the way from the airport.” Evelyn scoffed as Fred and Bob came to investigate who was home. “What? One cat wasn’t enough?”

“Well, at one point we had three, so consider yourself lucky.” Frank quipped. “I have to get cleaned up and then we can head over to party. I’m sure that Mary would love to see you.”

“I would very much like to see her as well.” Evelyn revealed and for a moment she actually seemed like a genuine loving human being. “There are a few things that I would like to discuss with you, as well. But they can wait.”

Frank felt an overwhelming sense of dread wash over him and he thought that he was going to be sick. He was worried that Evelyn had had second thoughts and wanted to talk to him about taking custody of Mary and reliving the whole mess over again.

He couldn’t lose Mary. Not when they were on the verge of starting a new life with Joey and Sam. Frank didn’t know if he had it in him to look Joey in the eye and tell her that he had lost Mary to his mother again. It would surely destroy both of them.

“It’s not about Mary’s living situation, Frank.” Evelyn reassured him when she saw the fear behind his eyes.

Frank nodded and left her in the kitchen and took the fastest shower of his life. Not because he was excited to get back to his mother or to the birthday party, but because his hot water tank had completely stopped working. To add to his terrible luck, he barely had any clean clothes at his house. Since Barry had gifted Joey her new appliances, Joey insisted that he do his and Mary’s laundry at her house and because they had spent so much time together, it didn’t make sense to bring the majority of it back once it was clean.

He thought he was stuck, but after impatiently going through his dresser and the back of his closet he managed to find an older pair of jeans and tshirt that he forgot he even owned. Even with his mother looming in his kitchen Frank still smiled to himself when he thought of moving in with Joey. He really loved that girl and her bravery continued to amaze him. She really was going to be the one to save him from becoming an old cat lady.

As if on cue he heard his phone go off and it was delighted that it was a message from his girls across the street.

Joey: Hurry up babe! You’re missing all of the fun!

Frank tried not to smile too big when he saw the picture that Joey had sent of her and Mary with their faces painted. Mary had an elaborate butterfly shaped mask over her eyes and Joey had her face painted like David Bowie’s alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. Happiness just dripped from Frank’s little phone screen. It was a picture that he knew he would save and treasure forever. But for as adorable as Joey looked, he felt terrible that she would inevitably meet his mother looking like that. Evelyn had always been so judgemental, he figured that she would never let something like that go.

Frank: Just trying to find some clothes. Keep your pants on Ziggy.

Frank wanted Joey to enjoy the party for as long as she could and opted not to give her a heads up about his mother. He didn’t want her to stress out and wash her face. He loved that she was the kind of girl that would jump right in with the rest of the kids and get her face painted as well. Joey was definitely his girl and he wouldn’t change her for the world. His mother would just have to get over it.

Speaking of Evelyn. Frank found her staring out the window watching the party across the street with an expression that Frank couldn’t quiet read.

“She’s quiet beautiful, your Joey.” Evelyn stated the obvious with an edge in her voice without taking her eyes from the window.

“Yes. She is.” Frank squared his shoulders and answered as if he were defending Joey for some reason. Evelyn was more mercurial then ever. Frank could have sworn that he had left his mother in a half decent mood, but now he was on guard and ready to protect his loved ones from her.

“She and Mary are quite close.”

“What is it that you wanted to talk to me about, mother? Maybe we should get it out of the way before the party.”

“Very well.” Evelyn sighed as she put her handbag down on the coffee table. “It appears that I need your help.”

\-----------------

Joey quickly threw on some clean clothes and was in the middle of tossing her hair up into a ponytail as she ran down her porch steps to find the kids, but she stopped in her tracks and just had to go back take another look at her new porch swing. It was as if it were calling to her.

Joey’s heart was filled with hope as she walked back up the steps and ran her fingers along the rustic reclaimed wood. Dozens of kids were screaming and laughing; excitement was all around her. But Joey was lost in a silent awe. She could tell that Frank had spent so much time on her swing. No, he had spent so much time on _their_ swing. She had never been loved like this before, it was a lot to take it.

It was hands down the nicest thing that anyone had ever done for her and meant more to her than any gift given to her by men in the past. Diamonds were worthless in comparison to Frank listening to her pour her heart out and then crafting a porch swing for her with his bare hands.

If that wasn’t enough to fill her heart, Frank wanted a future with her. Moving in together was such a big step. Joey smiled to herself and still couldn’t believe that she had actually asked him and that he had said yes.

Granted, Joey had moved in with men on a whim before, but this time it couldn’t have been more different and meaningful. This time she was aware that there were two beautiful children in the mix and their happiness and security were Joey’s utmost priority. But for as monumental a decision as it was, it still felt so right. She wanted all of their lives to be lived under one roof.

It was such an embarrassment of riches that Joey finally understood why people felt as though they needed to pinch themselves to make sure that they weren’t dreaming.

It was funny how life had turned out, Joey mused. She never thought that she was that kind of girl. She never thought that creating a home and being a mother would fulfill her the way that is has. She always thought that she had been destined for more than the white picket fence life, and had the stamps on her passport to prove it. She had spent so much time searching the world for the kind of peace and happiness that she had managed to find only a few feet away from the house that she had grown up in.

The biggest adventure of her life had turned out to be motherhood. Becoming Sam’s foster mother, as scary as it was, was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Joey was ready for this chapter of her life and embraced it with open arms. But she had to admit that her evolution hadn’t come about because of some grand epiphany. It had mostly come about because of Frank Adler and the influence he’d had on her.

She might never fully believe that she had what it took to be the kind of mother that Sam deserved, but she was ready to succeed and fail alike, with Frank by her side. He made parenting look so easy and had taught her so much by the example he set with Mary and Sam. He showed her where parenting was concerned, that showing up was half the battle and that love and patience were the most important factors and made her see that she had those qualities in droves.

Without Frank’s influence, Joey was sure that her stomach would still be in knots everyday and she would still be stressing out about ruining Sam’s life. But Frank believed in her and it was that belief that let her forgive herself for not being perfect.

She would never be able to thank him for all that he had given her. Joey’s mind wondered back to a few nights ago and all of the things Frank had confessed to her while sitting at her piano. He carried the weight of his family’s history on shoulders and it wasn’t fair. She wished that she could help him put some of his demons to rest the same way that he had done for her.

Just then, Joey felt two arms wrap around her waist from behind that startled her so badly that she nearly screamed out a few lovely profanities that surely wouldn’t have made her many friends with the all of the parents attending the birthday party.

“Alice!” Joey screeched as she smacked her cousin’s hands away while Alice laughed hysterically at her. “I swear I’m going to stick a damn bell on you! You move like a ninja!”

“Sorry, I didn’t realized that you were so jumpy! Maybe I was a cat burglar in a another life.” Alice giggled. “Ooooh is this new?”

Alice was absolutely glowing as she checked out the porch swing and the giant red bow. Joey couldn’t remember a time that her cousin looked as happy as she had been looking lately so it was easy to forgive her for scaring the life out of her. Alice and Barry were still going strong and Joey couldn’t have been happier for them.

“Frank.” Joey simply explained with a happy grin as she waved hello to Barry in the front yard. He was terribly overdressed for a kid’s birthday party but, now that Joey knew him better, his professional wardrobe just added to his charm.

“Frank made this! He didn’t!” Alice squealed.

“He did.” Joey blushed. She really wanted to tell Alice that her and Frank were going to move in together, but had to bite her tongue. They had agreed not to say anything until Frank had a chance to talk to Mary. But it was hard not to share the news with her.

“I told you he was a different guy with you.” Alice boasted as she bumped Joey with her shoulder. “Come on, help me get that kid of yours out of the petting zoo. I wanna jump in the bouncy house with him and fill him full of junk food. Hey, is it okay if I steal the bow later?”

“Of course.”

Even though Sam was in his element surrounded by all of the different animals, he didn’t take much coaxing. He loved his Aunt Alice and he was innocently astonished with at all the excitement around him and wanted to experience it all. His lust for life was so awe inspiring that Joey just had to picked him up and hug him close and had a hard time putting him back on the ground to go play.

“Love you, birthday boy.” Joey whispered in his ear and tried to take a mental picture of how small he felt in her arms.

“Wuv you, too, mommy.” Sam giggled. “Dis is so cool!”

“It really is, isn’t it! I’m so happy that I get to be your mommy, baby boy.” Joey smiled as she rubbed her nose against his and made him giggle. “Have fun and be good for, Auntie Al.”

Joey watched him bounce off with Alice and Barry and spotting Mary getting her face painted in one of the tents that her mother had set up and decided to join her and the rest of her girlfriends from Girl Scouts.

Joey kissed the top of Mary’s head and sat down behind her. The face painter was having a hard time keeping Mary’s hair at bay, so Joey took Mary’s blonde hair in her hands and started to french braid it to help keep her hair away from her face.

Mary loved the attention and that just made Joey want to shower more on the little girl. As luck would have it, Joey managed to find some colourful ribbon laying around and added it to Mary’s hair along with some yellow daisies she pulled from her mother’s front garden.

“You look so beautiful.” Joey gushed once she was done with her Mary’s hair and the face painter put some finishing touches on Mary’s butterfly mask. “Let’s take a picture and send it to Roberta!”

A half dozen giggling selfies later, Joey was getting roped into having her own face painted as well. Why not? But instead of choosing something extra girlie like the other little girls were getting, Joey opted to get a red lightning bolt across her face like Ziggy Stardust.

This time, Mary insisted that they send a picture to Frank and Joey agreed. Joey was wondering what was taking him so long, and she started to miss him. It was almost euphoric to realize that missing him would soon be a thing of the past once they all moved in together. Nothing could ruin this day, Joey mused to herself as she giggled with Mary and her friends.

\---------------------------------------------

Frank cross his arms and leaned against his wall. Having his mother ask him for help was a very foreign concept and he had no idea what to say. That small part of him that loved her the way a little boy loved his mother wanted to jump at the opportunity to be of service and earn her approval by helping her. But the stubborn adult man that had weathered years of her neglect and coldness wanted to get his revenge and watch her twist in the wind.

“Is it about Diane’s theory?” Frank asked as he cleared his and tried to ignore the conflict wrestling inside of him.

“No no. Well, not entirely.” Evelyn pursed her lips and took a deep breath before she explained. “It’s Walter.”

“Is he okay?” Frank asked with concern. Growing up, Frank hadn’t been particularly close with his stepfather, but Walter Price had been a brighter part of his childhood and Frank wished him no ill will.

“Well,” Evelyn began. “I guess that’s up for debate. Physically your stepfather is fine. He’s still in Montana _‘wrestlin’ dogies.’_ ” She laughed, recalling their one moment of levity during the custody case.

“Ah, I see.” Frank charmingly smiled. “Well. I know nothing about horses, Evelyn. I’d make a terrible cowboy.”

“He wants to cut me off financially.” Evelyn plainly stated without any trace of humour.

“What?” His mother’s frank admission seemed to take all of the air out of the room. “He wants a divorce?”

From what Frank remembered of his mother’s second marriage, Walter Price had always been completely devoted to his mother and had practically let her get away with murder. Granted, Walter had been a workaholic for the most part, but the pedestal that he had put his mother on couldn’t have been higher. His stepfather was was practically the mirror opposite of what Frank could remember of his late biological father, Frank Senior.

From what Frank could remember, Evelyn had grown to resent her first husband and blamed him for her decision to give up on her academic ambitions. Marriage and motherhood had not fulfilled her as she had hoped and she tended to take out her frustrations on her husband, and later, after his death, on him, as well.

Years of that treatment had taken a huge toll on his parent’s marriage and at the time of his father’s death, Frank Senior had cheated on his mother countless times. Frank had always had mixed feelings about his father philandering, and for a time he believed that perhaps the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree. But that had been before Frank decided to remain monogamous to Joey. Once Frank met the right woman, all of those fears he had about becoming a womanizer like his father were laid to rest.

Luckily, Walter Price had come along during a time when Evelyn had found her calling and was dead set on making sure that Diane applied herself and reached her potential. Evelyn was content and Walter never earned Evelyn’s resentment the way Frank’s father had, so their marriage never suffered as a result. Frank never once thought that they would get divorced, even after he had learned that Walter had moved to Montana without her.

“No. He doesn’t want a divorce.” Evelyn sadly smiled and shook her head. “Perhaps that would be easier. Apparently, he has had an epiphany out there on his ranch. He claims to know what is important in life and is attempting to right his wrongs during this chapter of his life. I personally think all of that fresh air has gone to his bloody head.” She bitterly added.

“So if he doesn’t want a divorce, then what does he want?”

“He wants a family.” Evelyn sung out in disgust. “He wants us all back together again. You, me and Mary. One big happy family. He wants holidays and dinners and god knows what else. He seems to think that I can fix everything and we’ll all sing Kumbaya together. The man has no idea what he’s asking!” Evelyn snapped and let her disdain for her husband show. “If I’m going to prove Diane’s theory then I need funds to hire the right people to get it into the right hands. Walter’s timing couldn’t be more disastrous!”

Frank let her confession sink in as he stared at his mother and matched her disgusted. One big happy family had never been the Adler way. Frank had been always been treated as of he wasn’t a full fledged member of his own family for the majority of his life but he had recently been trying to make peace with that fact so he could be the kind of man that he wanted to be for his new family.

But that little boy inside him just wouldn’t shut up; the annoying immature brat. Little did his mother know, one big happy family had been Frank’s deepest desire for as long as he could remember. But he couldn’t have been more resentful that she was here offering him what he had always wanted because of money and her cutthroat ambition and not because she actually cared about him.

“I don’t know what to what me to say, mother. What exactly are you asking me?” Frank sneared. He was seeing red and was ready to unleash all of his rage but heard his kitchen door open and close followed by a familiar voice calling out his name.

“Frank! Come on, babe. I brought you some clean clothes. Sam found the-”

When Joey saw that Frank was not alone in his living room, she stopped so abruptly in her tracks that her footing almost faltered and she felt her knees wobble. Joey recognized Evelyn, immediately, and, once she picked her jaw off the floor, she bit her bottom lip and regretted her current appearance. She hadn’t been planning on meeting her boyfriend’s mother dressed in a pair of cut off jean shorts, a big Rolling Stones t shirt with a ridiculous red lightning bolt painted across her face. But there was nothing that she could do about her appearance now, so she stood up a little straighter and tried to own how ludicrous she looked.

“Joe.” Frank sympathetically smiled when he sensed her discomfort. It was remarkable how his rage towards his mother could be put aside and turn into protective tenderness where Joey was concerned. He still hated that dignified look that Joey wore to hide her pain or embarrassment, it always cut him to the quick. Luckily, their eyes met for a second and Joey smiled back at him and gave him a quick reassuring nod. “Evelyn Adler, this is Josephine Kincade.” Frank formally introduced them.

“Josephine. A very _pretty_ name, for a very _pretty_ girl.” Evelyn praised condescendingly as if the term ‘pretty’ were a dirty word.

Frank’s jaw set and he squared his shoulders when he remembered how Evelyn would refer to his father’s mistresses as “his pretty girls.” As if all they contributed to the world was their finight beauty and were otherwise useless.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Adler.” Joey gulped. She shook Evelyn’s hand and threw away any hopes that one day she might be able to win over Frank’s mother. It was unnerving how cold that woman’s eyes were. “I’ve heard _so_ much about you.”

The tone of Joey’s voice implied that not everything that she had heard about Evelyn was good and Frank couldn’t have been prouder of his girl. Joey was a lot more than a pretty face. In two seconds she had stood her ground and refused to shrink to accommodate his mother’s snobby attitude.

“What did Sam find?” Frank asked to try and change the subject when Evelyn raised her eyebrow in reaction to Joey’s tone.

“Huh?” Joey’s head was spinning and she had no idea what Frank was talking about.

“You were saying that Sam had found something when you sailed in here.” Evelyn harshly reminded her.

“Oh. Right.” Joey turned to Frank and handed him the clothes that she had brought for him and Frank made sure that their hands secretly touched under the bundle, and he gave her hand a quick squeeze that brought a small smile to her lips. “Sam found the birthday cakes and he wants to blow out the candles. My mom told him that it wasn’t time yet, but then he got Mary involved and then it was two against one. You know how it is when the two of them join forces.”

“They can take over the world.” Frank attested with a charming smile as Evelyn picked up her handbag.

“But if you two need some more time,” Joey offered. “I can run some interference and stall them.”

“That’s alright, dear.” Evelyn reassured her. “It’s about time that I wish my granddaughter a happy birthday. Frank and I can continue our conversation at another time.”

The three of them awkwardly walked across the street together in silence until Mary spotted her grandmother and ran over to them squealing with joy. Joey felt lighter for the first time since meeting Evelyn when she saw how happy Mary was that her grandmother had surprised her for her birthday. Maybe Evelyn’s untimely visit wasn’t all bad, Joey hoped.

Joey looked over to Frank and could feel tension radiating off him in waves. She hated seeing him like that but didn’t know how to help. In lieu of having a magic wand to magically fix things between him and his mother, she instead took his hand and rubbed her thumb across his knuckles and hoped that her comfort would be enough to keep him grounded.

Frank was still seething with rage at the thought of his mother dropping by out of the blue and wanting to be a family again just for the sake of money, but he squeezed Joey’s hand back considered himself lucky that he had Joey and that she wanted to comfort him. Usually, he went through these kind of things alone.

Joey’s big blue eyes were filled with questions, but Frank shrugged his shoulders since he had no real answers for her. Even if Frank wanted to help his mother with Walter, he had no idea how they would be able to convince anyone that they were one big happy family. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that it was definition of a fool’s errand. Evelyn was right, Walter had no idea what he was asking.

“What happened, Frank?” Joey whispered with her chin against his shoulder. “You look like you’ve just been hit by a bus.”

“I kinda feel that way.” Frank bitterly chuckled as kids excitedly screamed all around them.

“My offer still stands. Do you want me to beat her up for you?” Joey teased. “Or I could push her into one of the bouncy houses and lock her in there.”

Joey being her cute self made Frank feel that maybe there was no need to be so defensive and resentful towards his mother. He had to learn to let some of it go if the two of them were truly going to make a go of it and share their lives with each other. But being around his mother tested Frank’s limits and he questioned if his new found evolution would ever be truly successful with Evelyn in his life.

“Thanks, Ziggy.” Frank teased back and tried his best to be pleasant.

“Oh shit!” Joey gasped as she turned on her heel. “I’m going to go wash my face. Go mingle and try not to be _‘Frank Adler, the quiet damaged hot guy.’_ These moms are all looking at you like you’re a damn snack.”

“I only have eyes for you, Ziggy.” Frank joked with a happy grin.

“Hey! I look good!” Joey turned to him and playfully protested. “Just not, ‘meeting my boyfriend’s mother for the first time,’ kinda good.”

Frank did lighten up a bit but ignored Joey’s advice and hung out around the edges of the giant party and watched as Mary dragged her grandmother all over the party and introduce her to Jessie and Sam and about a half dozen of her friends from Girl Scouts.

Frank couldn’t help but smirk to himself as he witnessed Evelyn try and blend in with all of the craziness of party. She looked so out of place amongst his neighbours, but to her credit, Evelyn was indeed trying to reach out and Frank started to admired her patience. When he was a child there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that she would have entertained any of his friends for this long without finding a reason to leave in disgust.

Speaking of patience. Frank could tell that Jessie was doing her best to accommodate her new visitor. Even though Joey’s mom discreetly gave him a sympathetic look from across the yard, she was trying her best to make Evelyn feel included for Mary’s sake. Frank always knew that Jessie and Evelyn were essentially mirror opposites, but it was damn right trippy to see contrast up close. But for as pleasant and welcoming as Jessie was, Frank figured that she would still be on guard and worried about Joey and how she would fare with Evelyn.

Frank just smiled back and gave her a reassuring nod. Joey would be fine, he told himself and tried to project that confidence on to Jessie. Becoming a family man that was responsible for more than just his niece, was still a new feeling, but Frank was up for the challenge.

Frank figured that he could credit his relative coolness to the fact that Evelyn had very little interest in Sam and had stayed away from him since she got there. Right or wrong, Frank couldn’t help but see himself in Sam sometimes, and he didn’t like the idea of the little guy getting his feelings hurt the same way his had been hurt when he was a kid. The would be a button that Evelyn would regret pushing.

Sam must have known that Frank had been thinking of him because he made a beeline towards him. Frank could tell that his little buddy was having the time of his life playing with everyone, but once Sam had spotted Frank in the crowd, he couldn’t seem to get to him fast enough.

Unfortunately, in all of the excitement, the birthday boy tripped over his own feet and very gracefully landed face first in the grass.

Without thinking twice about it, Frank swiftly rushed to the little boy’s side and scooped him up into his arms and tried to make him smile before he started crying. Distraction usually worked with Sam, and this time was no exception.

Sam put on a brave face (similar to the one that his foster mother had worn countless times) as Frank check him for injuries and, in no time, he was giggling along with Frank’s silly jokes. They were having a great time joking about the petting zoo until Sheryl, Joey’s boss, came by and demanded her ‘Sam time’ and took the little boy to get a balloon animal made for him.

Frank could feel his mother’s eyes on him as he begrudgingly gave Sam to Sheryl. He almost didn’t want to hug Sam back when he wrapped his little arms around his neck to say goodbye. For some reason, Frank didn’t want to give his mother the satisfaction of knowing just how much Sam meant to him.

All Sam had to do was whisper, “Wuv you, Frank,” into his ear to win him over and Frank realized how stubborn he was being and he hugged Sam back and kissed his cheek.

“Love you, too, Sam I am. Happy birthday, big guy.”

Frank shoved his hands in his pockets and watched Sam take off with Sheryl. It wasn’t long after that that Joey had stopped taking pictures of the party and came strolling back to him and handed him a large red solo cup.

“Beer.” she stated with a smile and clean lightning bolt free face. “I figured you’d need it.”

“Thanks.” Frank sighed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. “Got anything stronger? ” He playfully added.

“You should have asked Sheryl for her flask.” Joey giggled. “But some of the parents are mixing up pina coladas in my mom’s kitchen.”

“You’re kidding!”

“My mom thinks of everything.” Joey laughed. “You should have seen some of the parties that she threw for me and Alice back in the day. This is pretty tame in comparison.”

“Tame?” Frank scoffed. “Nah babe, this is...this is…” Frank looked around at all of the balloons and bouncy houses and shook his head in awe. Everyone was having a good time and had a smile on their face; he never had half of this growing up. “This is amazing.”

“I was smaller back then so maybe everything felt bigger.” Joey considered. “Did you see Mary’s hair?”

“Was that you? She looks great, I love that you know how to do that.”

“I could teach you.” Joey offered with a sly smirk. “My man is great with his hands, a french braid should be easy for someone so.. _.talented_.”

Joey winked at him and Frank let out a loud laugh. It felt great to get out of his head and have a half decent time at the party. He started to think that it was okay that his mother would never love him for him. He told himself that having a woman like Joey love him was an experience that surely would make up for it...he hoped.

Soon it was time to bring the cakes out and Joey tried not to be nervous with Evelyn still there, but it was difficult. Evelyn was mostly hanging out with Mary and her mother but the odd time that their eyes met a chill went down Joey’s spine. She could tell that Evelyn was biding her time and waiting for her chance to continue her conversation with Frank and Joey couldn’t help but feel protective of him.

Just then, Mary came by and took Joey hand and lead her to the table and insisted that she sit in Joey’s lap and help her blow out the candles. She could feel Evelyn watching their interactions, but Joey bravely decided that she wasn’t going to let that woman’s disapproval ruin a moment that she had been waiting for for weeks now.

Joey took her seat and pulled Mary into her lap and looked beside her only to find that Sam had done the same with Frank. Sam was sitting in Frank’s lap and happily clapping his little hands together and waiting for his birthday cake.

In that moment, it became crystal clear to Joey that they were a family. The four of them posed for pictures and Joey wrapped her arms around Mary and cuddled her close as her mother and Sheryl came out with two, rather large, home baked birthday cakes.

Sheryl had a hard time carrying Sam’s cake to the table. It was huge and when she finally set it down in front of Frank and Sam, Joey understood why. Jessie had painstakingly made a giant elephant cake that suspiciously looked a lot like the elephant that Frank had won Sam at the carnival weeks ago.

It was so cute and touching, but Joey barely had time to admire the cake, when she and Mary were presented with Mary’s cake.

“Oh, wow.” Mary exclaimed in awe. “This is nuts.”

“Ma,” Joey tried but she couldn’t hide the emotion in her voice. “This is so beautiful.”

Mary’s cake was an impressive three layer round cake beautifully decorated in a beach theme, complete with sandpipers and seashells. The pride of craftsmanship was written all over it, it must have taken her mother so much time to create.

“Seriously, Jess. These are amazing.” Frank praised as he tried to stop Sam from touching his elephant cake before the candles were lit.

“Made with love.” Jessie humbly shrugged before she kissed the top of Mary’s head and high fived Sam. “Happy Birthday guys.”

Joey wiped away her happy tears as Mary teased her for being so emotional while candles were lit. Then two different choruses of Happy Birthday ran out throughout the street.

Frank and Joey could tell that something was up when the kids blew out their candles as if they were conspiring together. Mary later confessed that they had wished for the same thing in the hopes of maximizing their wish.

Frank playfully tried to get them to disclose what their wish had been but they banded together and refused to tell. Sam almost let it spill but Mary quickly covered the little boy’s mouth to stop him.

“If you say it out loud then it won't come true, remember.” Mary reminded him.

Once everyone was properly full of sugar, Alice, Barry, and Jessie came by the table and asked if they could steal the kids for a minute to give them their present. Frank and Joey handed them over only to hear the two kids screaming bloody murder once the four of them had reached Joey’s backyard.

Frank and Joey shot out of their seats just in time to hear their screams turn into giggles as they raced towards the giant swing set that was waiting for them complete with the giant red bow that had decorated Joey’s porch swing.

“You didn’t!” Joey gasped when she saw the monstrosity that took up half of her backyard. Her mother had told her backyard had been begging for a swingset when she gave her the house, and she hadn’t been wrong.

“I did!” Barry boasted with pride as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked from his heels to the tips of his toes. “Well, we did, actually. Alice and Jess picked it out and I had some guys from the store set it up while everyone was busy at party.”

“You’re really good at grand gestures, aren’t cha, Barry.” Joey teased as she linked their arms together.

“Not really.” Barry blushed. “I used to suck at it, and mess everything up. But Alice really loves her family and wants the best for you guys. It makes me want the best for you guys, too. But hey, every kid needs a swing set right?”

“I don’t think that’s actually a saying, Barry.” Alice giggled and linked her arm around Barry’s other arm and rested her head against his shoulder.

“You’re a good man.” Joey praised as she watched the kids play. “My cousin is a very lucky girl.”

“It’s the kids that are lucky ones.” Frank jokingly butted in. Barry had officially won Frank over. Tie or no tie, Barry was a good guy. He had gone out of his way to help Joey and Sam so many times at this point, it was impossible for Frank to compete with him. Rightfully so, Barry should be Jessie’s favourite and Frank was perfectly okay with that.

It was getting later in the day and a lot of the guests who had brought their children had started to leave. The petting zoo and the bouncy houses had already left and some Jessie’s friends had stayed behind to help her clean up. Even though the party had started to die down, there were still a few people mulling around. From what Joey remembered of her mother’s famous parties, there was usually a second act that was mostly for adults to sit around and have some drinks and catch up without the kids around.

“Where’s your mom?” Joey asked Frank when she caught him taking some of the trash to the curb for her mother.

“Jessie said that she had to rest her feet. I can’t believe that she last this long, she must really want to talk. I think she’s at your mom’s.”

“Do you want to get it over with and find out what she wants? The kids are distracted by the swing set.”

Frank dropped his shoulders and reluctantly agreed. Other than that afternoon, the last time that he had talked his mother face to face, he was giving her Diane’s theory and taking Mary back from her. He really wasn’t used to having conversations with his mother that weren’t heavy and filled with years of animosity and blame. He was truly dreading having to speak to her but knew that he needed to get it over with.

Joey could sense the dark place that his mind had gone and took his hand.

“Hey, you don’t think I’m sending you in there by yourself do you?” Joey stated with confidence. She hated the sad vulnerable look in Frank’s eyes and took his face into her hands and softly kissed his lips. “We’ll face it together, then put the kids to bed and have our first porch swing date. You’re not alone anymore, Alder. I’ll be there right beside you - ready to knock her out if she steps outta line.”

After Frank had puffed out a loud laugh and hugged her close, Joey tried to muster up all of the strength she could as they walked into her mother’s house in search of Evelyn. But the truth was, Joey had no idea what she walking into. All she knew for sure was that Frank had helped her conquer her demons so many times since she’s known him, and now it was her turn to help him conquer his.

 


	23. "One Big Happy Family" Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By the end of the children’s birthday party, party crashers cause tensions to run high.
> 
> Warnings: Animal cruelty.

Frank and Joey walked into Jessie’s house hand in hand and found Evelyn in the living room with Sheryl. Joey knew that her boss was one of the toughest women that she had ever met and had no problem making new friends, but Joey still felt protective of her and couldn’t help but hope that Frank’s mother had been kind to her as Sheryl entertained her.

Frank let out a sigh when he saw his mother and Sheryl sitting on the couch and squeezed Joey’s hand. One of Joey’s favorite things about Frank was how much he cared about the people in his life; even friendly acquaintances like her boss. He had been thinking the same thing that she had been thinking and she loved how insync they were.

“Mother.” Frank cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Frank.” Evelyn politely smiled up at him but her eyes seemed to freeze over when she not only saw that Joey was with him, but that they were holding hands and appeared to be a united front. “Sheryl here was just telling me about...well, telling me about everything, actually. I had no idea that your little town was so colourful.”

“I’ll let you visit with your handsome son.” Sheryl offered as she pushed herself off the couch. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you.” Evelyn pleasantly answered as if her and Sheryl were now old friends. “Thank you for keeping me company.”

Sheryl lovingly smiled at Joey and mouthed _‘breathe’_ to her before she left them alone. Joey took her advice, but after her boss had gone, Joey didn’t know where to look. She was uncomfortable and felt completely out of her depth with a woman like Evelyn.

All things considered, family drama had never really been Joey’s forte. For as much trouble as her biological father had caused, Mitch had stayed away for the majority of her life and her mother had gone out of her way to spare her and Alice any undo stress.

Joey had grown up loved unconditionally and knew that her mother had always been proud of her. She wished that Frank could have experienced the same growing up. But now that Joey was in the same room with the woman that had the power to fix what she had broken in the man that Joey loved, Joey didn’t want to let the opportunity pass and tried to calm her nerves and rise to the occasion.

“Did you need a ride to your hotel, mother...or to the airport?” Frank suggested, half teasing.

“I was still hoping that we could talk.. _.privately_.” Evelyn added without taking her cold eyes off of Joey, implying that she wasn’t welcome to join them.

“Evelyn.” Frank sighed with a heavy heart. “Anything that you say to me you can definitely say in front of Joey.”

“Is that so?” Evelyn challenged. “So this is where we are then? This is the woman that you think would be a suitable replacement for Diane. Someone that can braid Mary’s hair while they watch reality tv and then can teach her how to apply her eyeliner?”

“Jesus.” Frank shook his head with disbelief. “ _‘Replace Diane.’_ You know there would be no need to replace Diane in the first place if it weren’t for....” Frank stopped himself from finishing his sentence because Joey started to squeezed the hell out of his hand as if it were caught in a beartrap. She was desperately trying to stop him from saying something he’d regret. He hated that she was probably right, so he reluctantly stopped himself before Joey ended up breaking his hand. “Look, you wanted a big old happy family right? Well, I’ve got news for you, that will always include Joey.” Frank explained and changed his tactic. “On the upside, I’m sure that Mary’s eyeliner is going to look fantastic one day.”

“What? She said that?” Joey gasped in surprise. It felt like Frank had dropped a huge bomb on her. If a ‘big old happy happy family’ was why Evelyn was here, then maybe there was hope, after all. Joey didn’t care how Evelyn treated her if it meant that maybe Frank could be on the road to having a better relationship with his mother one day. Frank, Mary and Sam would always be more important to Joey than her ego.

“I didn’t say that.” Evelyn denied with gritted teeth. Her eyes darted from Frank and to Joey, obviously cross that Frank had aired their dirty laundry in front of an outsider. “That is my husband’s foolish idea. He’s had a lot of them recently and I’ve learned not to take them too seriously.”

“Walter wants to cut her off and take all of her precious money away if she doesn’t bring the family back together.” Frank explained to Joey. “And so far she’s doing a pretty shitty job of it, to tell you the truth.” He added for good measure.

“What exactly do _you_ want, Mrs. Adler?” Joey asked with earnest when she sensed an opening that could bring her and Frank back on common ground. “Do you want to bring your family together? It’s been years...”

“What I want is besides the point.” Evelyn deflected and refused to answer Joey's question. “I am working full time trying to prove Diane’s theory and win her that Fields Metal. I don’t have time for all of this sentimental nonsense. I don’t have the luxury of playing with flowers all day or fixing boats in the sun. It’s a Millennium Problem that can help the world. It’s my responsibility to see it through, I thought that’s why you gave it to me in the first place.”

Joey was sent reeling and it felt as though Evelyn had just punched her the gut. Why couldn’t Evelyn see that she had an opportunity to have one of her children back just by admitting that she wanted him. Joey couldn’t help but feel that Frank and his mother were right on the verge of a second chance and she couldn’t let it slip through their stubborn shortsighted fingers.

“You’re right. Well, then I guess we’re done here.” Frank announced with an air of fake lightheartedness. Joey had given Evelyn a chance to change her tune and at last pretend that she cared about him, but true to form, Evelyn couldn’t muster a single genuine emotion for him. “Make sure to say goodbye to Mary before you leave. She’s the blonde girl with the french braid in case you weren’t sure.”

“Wait!” Joey blurted out. “Can’t you just try, Frank?”

“What!?” Frank snapped as he pulled his hand away from Joey so fast that Joey’s arm went flying. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing and wanted to scream and stomp his foot like a little kid. He knew he was being immature, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. _“Try?_ You think that this is _my_ fault?”

“No, of course not.” Joey tried to explain. Frank was furious and his Boston accent was as thick as ever, a sound she usually loved under different circumstances. “But look, she’s here...maybe there is a way…”

“Walter wants us all to visit him in Montana. I can send you plane tickets.” Evelyn offered and soon it felt as though it were two against one and Frank’s head started to spin. “Once he is properly placated, I have no problem compensating you for your time. Play along and I would make it worth your while. It’s for the greater good, Frank. Diane’s theory should come before anything.”

“This could be a good first step, Frank.” Joey pleaded.

“She’s doing all of this for money!” Frank shouted, making both of the women flinch and jump with his outburst. “Money, Josephine! Fucking money! I never thought that you, of all people, would be okay with this! What the hell is wrong with you? Who are you right now?”

Joey’s mouth dropped open and she wasn’t sure what to say. Frank was right, money was a terrible motivator, but Joey saw an opportunity for Frank to come to terms with his mother and possibly have her as a positive force in his life and she didn’t want him to just throw it away because he was insulted. Frank had never admitted to her that he still loved his mother dearly, but she knew how Frank’s heart worked and she knew that it had to be true.

Evelyn had caused Frank so much damage over the years and Joey was sure that hating her was just a defensive mechanism he used to keep himself from getting hurt over and over again. Joey hoped that if he gave her a chance he wouldn’t have to do that anymore.

“Can’t you just hear her out?” Joey begged. “Mary would love Montana and -”

“Enough!” Frank roared. “Enough. I’m out of here. You can have Mary tonight. I need to get the hell out of here before I say something that I’ll regret. I can’t believe you right now, Joey. So much for us being a fucking team. You’re supposed to be my family, not hers!”

Before Joey could answer him, Frank had stormed out the front door and had made his way across the street to where his truck was parked and drove away.

Now it was Joey’s turn to feel as though her head was spinning. She couldn’t believe what had just happened and just stood in her mother’s living room alone with Evelyn with her mouth hanging open and her heart breaking into pieces. She had played everything so wrong. All she wanted to do was help Frank and she had ended up making everything worse.

“Here, my dear.” Evelyn consoled her by placing her hand on her shoulder and offering her a box tissues from her mother’s coffee table.

Joey was in shock and hadn’t realized that she'd been crying and quickly took a tissue and wiped her tears away. “I’m so sorry about that, Mrs. Adler. That was embarrassing.”

“Does my son yell often?” Evelyn asked softly with genuine concern.

“No.” Joey whined as she shook her head. “He never yells. He’s the best man that I’ve ever known. I really fucked up. I just wanted to try and fix things for him...the way he has fixed things for me so many times. Does that make any sense?”

“It makes perfect sense, my dear.”

If Joey didn’t know any better, she’d think that Evelyn was actually being motherly towards her and it was a confusing feeling.

“But our problems are deep and go back decades. I lost him a long time ago. It was ridiculous of me to think that he would do what was right for change. He’s always been weak.”

Joey blinked at her and was trying to decide whether to vehemently defend Frank and scratch Evelyn’s eyes out or beg Evelyn to give him another chance. Unfortunately, the decision was made for her when they both heard a very loud commotion coming from the front of the house and they abandoned their conversation to try and figure out what in the world was going on.

Before Joey and Evelyn could reach the front window to inspect what was happening, they were both startled when they heard a woman screaming. In an instant, Joey knew in her heart that the woman was her cousin Alice. It was remarkable that even though Joey’s heart had filled with the purest fear that she had ever known, she still ran towards the perilous situation as if on autopilot.

Joey was so concentrated on racing towards the sound of Alice’s cries that she barely noticed the large pickup truck parked unceremoniously in the middle her mother’s front lawn. Once her eyes found Alice, Joey was undeterred and ran towards her as fast as her body would allow. She kept her focus on her terrified cousin as a second strange car came screeching to halt in front of her mother’s house and all of the lingering guests got out of the way.

Unfortunately, Joey had kept such a single minded focus on Alice that she ended up running directly into what felt like a wall of muscle. Before she could register what had happened, she flew to the ground with a heavy thud that knocked all of the air out of her lungs.

“I told you that this was bad idea, pops!” Cameron’s voice boomed above her. “JJ, you okay?”

Joey felt stupid and sore all over, but was more horrified over what was unfolding around her. The wall of muscle that Joey had so clumsily run into had been her biological father, Mitch Clauson, and her half brother, Cameron, appeared to be trying to do damage control over the situation.

All Joey could hear was the sound of her heartbeat in her ears and she felt as though she were underwater as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Her head hurt from the fall and she hoped that she was just seeing things. She’d never wished for a concussion more in her whole life.

Cameron helped her up off the ground as her father wickedly smirked at her and shook his head. Mitch seemed so delighted with the situation and it made Joey sick to her stomach. This wasn’t a dream, Joey decided and told herself that she needed to act quickly to minimize the damage that was surely to unfold.

Alice, who was usually so strong and in control, was sobbing in Barry’s arms so Joey quickly made her way over to them and ignored her ignorant party crashers. Since the kids weren’t in sight, Alice became Joey’s first priority. Getting her out of there was something that seemed fixable.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No. But...he...oh god” Alice was on the verge of hyperventilating and she wasn’t making a lot of sense. Joey figured that after Mitch had made his grand entrance he must have taunted her cousin in some crude way, and that, along with his mere presence, had brought back all of the memories that Alice had tried to suppress for decades.

“Barry, get her out of here.” Joey sternly ordered without a single trace of humor. Alice started to protest but Joey cut her off and focused only on having Barry listen to her. Joey wasn’t interested in messing around or mincing her words and poor Barry ended up losing all of the colour from his face as Joey barked her instructions at him as if she were an army drill sergeant in another life. “You pick her up of you have to and you get my cousin out of here! Trust me. Let her scream at you, let her hate you, but get her out of here, now!”

Barry nodded as the confusion quickly left his eyes and was replaced with a sense of purpose.

“I can’t do this, Joey.” Alice sobbed as Barry tried in vain to politely usher her to his car. “How can I ever be a mother.”

“What?”

“I’m pregnant,” Alice cried. “I was going to tell you, but it’s still so early.”

 _“Holy shit.”_ Was all Joey could think to say.

“But how am I supposed to protect this baby when I can’t even protect myself? I feel like a helpless little kid whenever I think of that man. I want this baby so much but I’m going to be such a shitty mother. I’m pathetic.”

Joey felt her knees buckle and she almost fell to the ground again as her brain tried to process the bombshell that Alice had dropped on her.

Alice was pregnant. _Holy shit!_ Alice and Barry were actually going to have a baby.

The whole world seemed to fall away for a second as a slow smile stretched across Joey’s face once she had picked her jaw up from off the ground.

It was such amazing news and Joey wished that she had the time to fully enjoy such a monumental moment but Alice’s condition made it even more important for Barry to get Alice the hell out of there. Joey put her hand on Alice’s stomach and fell in love with her child on the spot and she silently vowed to always love and protect that baby the same way that did with Mary and Sam.

“You are a badass and you’re gunna be one badass mama, do you hear me.” Joey reassured her with confidence. “Get in that car and take care of my godkid, okay. I’ll handle everything else. But if you ever talk about yourself like that again, I’m gunna kick your butt.” Alice tried to smile as she placed her hand on top of Joey’s but she was still so scared. The trauma that Mitch had inflicted on her cousin ran deep and it broke Joey’s heart. “Take care of your mama.” Joey whispered towards Alice’s belly.

Barry thanked Joey for her help and Joey watched as he forcefully got Alice to his car and waved to his mother, Sheryl, to join them as well.

Once she knew that her cousin and her baby were safe, Joey scanned the remnants of the birthday party for Mary and Sam and was relieved when she still didn’t see them. Mitch’s presence had sent everyone reeling and any guests left over from the party were collecting their belongings and leaving. Her father’s reputation preceded him and no one wanted to be involved in what was about to unfold. In that moment, Joey couldn’t have been more grateful for Barry’s extravagant gift when she realized that the kids were still two houses away in her backyard playing on their new swingset. Otherwise, they might have come to inspect all of the new excitement.

Joey turned to her half brother for answers and noticed that Cameron couldn’t look at her and stared at his feet with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Joey could understand his embarrassment. Mitch was laughing cold heartedly at the people leaving as if he found the fear and stress he caused hilarious. Joey was embarrassed as well and felt her cheeks burn. She hated being associated with the man and in any way, shape or form. Nothing had changed; her father was still a cruel bully that delighted in causing pain.

“Mitch.” Joey greeted her estranged father grimly with her lips pressed together. He looked older than she remembered but it was uncanny how little he had changed. He was still a larger than life figure that was handsome, tall and had a swagger about him that would be considered charming if you didn’t look too far beneath the surface. If you did, you see what a cold hearted monster he was.

“Mitch! You can get your damn truck off my lawn right now!” Jessie came out of nowhere and charged up to them. Joey put her hand up to stop her but, of course, Jessie didn’t listen to her and continued to stand her ground and get into her ex's face. Joey admired her mother’s strength, but wished that she didn’t have to deal with that man anymore.

“I’m so sorry, JJ.” Cameron apologized as her parents starting bickering with each other. “I tried to stop him, I really did.”

“Sure you did.” Joey seethed as she rolled her eyes at him. She ignored her brother’s fake apologies and quickly pulled her phone out her pocket to call Frank but got his voicemail, instead.

 _“Fuck!”_ Joey muttered under her breath as she texted him and hoped that he was screening his calls out of anger and that his phone hadn't died.

 **Joey:** Mitch is here at my moms. I really need you. I’m so sorry about everything and we can fight it out later. Please come home Adler.

Joey’s heart ached in her chest at the thought of Frank out there alone hurt and furious and believing that she didn’t have his best interest at heart, so she fired off another text.

 **Joey:** You ARE my family and I’ll always be on your team. Please believe that. I love you no matter what.

“Look, JJ.” Cameron tried to turn his back to Mitch so that he wouldn’t hear their conversation and Joey shot her mother a look that let her know that she needed to keep Mitch busy. “Those guys that were hassling you that night at the bar, they work for the old man.” Cameron explained. “They’re low level grunts and went to him and apologized for messing with his daughter and tried to kiss his ring if you know what I mean.”

“That’s how he knew I was back in the state?”

“Yeah.” Cameron regretfully sighed. “He’s been pissed at me for weeks now for not telling him myself.”

“I thought you sold me out.” Joey admitted under her breath. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t sweat it, he’s always trying to turn his kids against each other. I just found out that he’s been checking up on you.” Cameron explained. “I’m sorry about that, too.”

“Checking up on me? Stalking. The word that you’re looking for is stalking and it’s against the fucking law.” Joey snapped. “We saw him, he's not as sneaky as he thinks he is.”

“Look, JJ.” Cameron ran his hand down his face and seemed like he genuinely wanted to help her. “I kinda did it, too, at least that first night when we ran into each other. I followed you home from the bar. I had his truck that night. I just wanted to make sure that you got home okay. After Alice saw me, I dunno. I felt bad. But you need to know that he’s been drinking a lot lately, and going on and on about his grandson. None of us have any kids.” Referring to Joey and Cameron’s other half brothers. “He’s been obsessed with his bloodline lately. I guess he’s getting old. I just thought that you should know. I tried to stall him so he didn’t crash the little guy’s party, but he wants to see the kid.”

 _“Fuck!”_ Joey’s head started spinning again and she tried not to hyperventilate like Alice as her heart began pounding in her chest.

Joey assumed that she had just recently experienced what pure fear had tasted like when Alice was danger, but she had been fooling herself. That was just an appetizer for what she was about to feel. The possibility of her kids being in danger caused a cold terror to flow through her veins that threatened to consume and drown her.

Joey knew that she had to get Mary and Sam out of there before Mitch found them. She hadn’t seen Mitch in years, so of course he would assume that Sam was her biological kid.

The longer that Mitch stood there arguing with her mother, the more it became very apparent to everyone watching them that he was not only a raging asshole, but also drunk and looking for trouble. If he thought that he had some kind of claim on Sam, who knew what he would do. Joey went through her options and tried to stop her body from shaking uncontrollably.

She refused to give into the fear and decided to fight. The need to protect her kids came from a primal part of Joey’s heart. She started to understand the articles that she had read on how women were able to lift cars off their children in order to save them. As she stood out on her mother’s lawn, she was ready to take on the whole damn world to safeguard those two kids.

Joey had no idea what to do and felt like a caged animal. She wished that Frank was there to help her think things through and keep her from losing her cool. For as hot headed as Frank could be at times, it was uncanny how he was able to ground her and center her mind and her heart.

But Frank wasn’t here now and she had only herself to blame. All she knew was what that she had to shake it off and think clearly if she was going to play this right. She tried to steady her breathing and told herself that she could freak out later.

Joey glanced over and saw Evelyn watching the situation unfold from her mother’s porch. Evelyn looked strong and commanding and it dawned on Joey that Evelyn, with all of her flaws, was still a mother and must, therefore, she have some idea of what she was feeling. Their eyes met and Joey felt connected to her for the first time since meeting her. It was in that moment that Joey decided that she was her only hope and rushed to her side.

“I need your help.” Joey demanded and got straight to the point.

“What do you need, dear? What’s happening?” Evelyn asked with concern. “Who is that dreadful man with your mother. Is she alright?”

“It’s a long story, but I need you to get Mary and Sam and take them to your hotel.” Joey looked her dead in the eye and spoke so fast it were as if her request were one long word.

“What! You can’t be serious.” Evelyn scoffed. “Are they in some kind of danger? It’s nearly their bedtime and I don’t even know your son. Can’t you call my son?”

“I can’t get ahold of Frank. I don’t know if they’re in danger, but I’m not willing to take any chances. I’d take them out of here myself, but I think it would just cause more problems.” Joey glanced over her shoulder at Mitch and her mother still arguing. “He’d probably follow me.”

“Follow you? Josephine, I think that you need to call the police.”

“I will, if it comes to that. I wouldn’t be surprised if a dozen of my neighbours haven’t call them already. ” Joey felt her voice break as she pleaded with Evelyn and frantically searched her eyes for any sign of compassion. “I need the kids gone. Please, you’re a mother. You have to understand. I don’t want any of this to touch them. I don’t want that man anywhere near my kids, it’s my job to protect them.”

“Your kids? You mean both Sam _and_ Mary?” Evelyn tried to clarify with wide eyes full of astonishment and a slight trace of fear.

“Yes, but we can argue about labels and semantics later.” Joey countered and begun to get impatient with her. Joey wished that Roberta was there, she would have the kids half way to next county by now. “I know that you might think that you’re the scariest person in town but I’m afraid, tonight, you’ve been upstaged by my father.”

Evelyn raised an eyebrow and tried to intimidate her, but Joey didn’t have time for her crap and tried to summon her inner no nonsense Roberta. “Look, I don’t have time to butter you up and get you to like me. Yes, I’m a florist. That’s not a crime. Someone has to make the bouquets that you send to the people you’ve crush and destroyed on your path to mathematical importance!”

Evelyn looked as though Joey had slapped her across the face, but that didn’t stop Joey from insisting that Frank’s mother do the right thing. “You’re going to do this because it’s the right thing to do for those kids, do you understand. This isn’t about you and me. You can go back to hating me later.”

“Very well.” Evelyn whispered and seemingly backed off. She appeared to still be shaken by Joey’s admission about Mary but still managed to give Joey the name of her hotel and the room number so she could pick up the children when the coast was clear.

“And Gus, too!” Joey quickly blurted out when terrible memories of her father’s dog fighting days flooded her mind.

“And now who the hell is Gus, I might ask?” Evelyn exasperatedly demanded.

“Our golden retriever. He’s with the kids in our backyard. Mitch has a terrible history with dogs, you really don’t want to know.”

“I’m not running a bloody kennel.”

“Please, I wouldn’t ask if my father wasn’t a goddamn monster.” Joey implored her. “Mary and Sam love that dog and I was Mary’s age when I learned what a bait dog was and I’ll be damned if she’ll get the same education.” Joey stood her ground and Evelyn began to understand that Joey meant business and agreed. In fact, Joey could have sworn that a flash of admiration or respect had appeared in Evelyn’s eyes for a second.

A few minutes later, Joey watched as Evelyn struggled to carry a screaming Mary across the street to her rental car with Sam and Gus in tow behind her. Joey closed her eyes and was sure that she would hear Mary screaming her name in her nightmares for the rest of her life. The poor girl knew something was wrong, but had no idea that leaving was for her own good and that staying to defend Joey wouldn’t have helped the situation at all. For as intelligent as Mary was, she was still an eight year old girl that was far too brave for her own good. Joey looked around and was grateful that Mitch was too intoxicated and self centered to have noticed the little girls cries

Once Joey saw Evelyn’s rental car drive off, she started to breath properly again and tried to psych herself up to deal with Mitch and Cameron. She had overheard her mother ordering Mitch to leave countless times while she convinced Evelyn to take the kids, now it was time to go and back her mother up.

“Look, Jess, you’re sexy as hell when you’re all riled up. But I’m not leaving here without meeting my grandson.”

“I hate to disappoint you, Mitch.” Joey interrupted. “But Sam isn’t your grandson.”

“Come on now, JJ.” Mitch laughed. “I saw the boy with my own two eyes. He’s a good looking kid, definitely got the Clauson genes. Now where is he? If you’re a good girl there’s a present in it for you. You didn’t think your daddy would have come empty handed now did ya?”

“You saw my foster son while you were stalking me.” Joey made sure that she emphasized that Sam was her foster son and not her biological son. The distinction meant nothing to her, but Joey knew that it would take all of the wind out of his sails if he was so obsessed about his bloodline.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me, JJ. I don’t believe you.” Mitch went from a playful drunk with a confident swagger to a cold menacing thug. The transformation was as swift and remarkable as a mask slipped off his face.

For a second, Joey considered that Mitch might hurt her, but now that the kids were gone, she simply stood her ground and hoped for the best. It wasn’t that she had a death wish, but Joey was done having her father disrupt her life and she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she let him push her around.

“Believe what you want.” Joey coldly explained. “My boyfriend’s ex wife dropped the kid off one day, the next thing I knew, my boyfriend bailed on us, too. I decided to fill out the paperwork and take him in, he’s not your grandson. I haven’t even adopted him, yet.”

“Well that was stupid.” Mitch spit out when he finally believed her. “You’re a Clauson, I thought you were smarter than that. Taking in a brat that isn’t yours? What’s wrong with you? Maybe I was wrong about you, afterall, JJ.”

“My name is Joey Kincade.” She corrected him. “I’ve never been a Clauson. But if I ever do have a child of my own, I’d die before I let you anywhere near them. If I have my way, they’ll never even hear the name Clauson.”

“Hey,” Cameron came to her defence when Mitch squared his shoulders and took a menacing step towards her for defying him. Cameron could sense trouble starting when Joey refused to flinch or back down. Not many people went toe to toe with Mitch and lived to tell the tale. Cameron would have been proud of his sister, if he wasn’t so worried about her safety. But it was uncanny how after all of the lectures Cameron had listened to Mitch give him about what it took to be Clauson, Cameron considered that maybe Joey was the truly the best of the bunch and actually defied all of their father’s expectations. “She did a good thing for a kid that needed it. Kinda like what Jessie did for me when my mom died. Are we done here now. Can we go home?”

“You’ve got a smart mouth, JJ. ” Mitch ignored Cameron as he looked her up and down and tried to decide what to do about her indifference. “You’ve always been the sweetest thing I've ever laid my eyes on. My little girl. I had such hopes for you. Those big blue eyes, they look just like my mother’s. You were smart and tough...even when you were just a tiny thing. It’s a shame that your ungrateful mother turned you against me. Things could have been different, you know. I’m not the bad guy that you think I am.”

“You need to leave, Mitch.” Joey ordered without letting any emotion take over her voice. She didn’t believe a word he said and was insulted that he was trying to win her over and turn her against her mother. “You’re not wanted here.”

“Remember when you used to call me _Daddy?_ ” Mitch wistful sung out and ignored her, choosing only to focus on her using his first name.

“Remember when I was two years old and you broke my fucking collarbone when you got mad that I touched your car?” Joey retorted without backing down. “Or the dog you gave me when I was eight that turned up dead, or the shit that you tried to pull when Alice was ten? Trying to sell off her virginity in a poker game like she was your busted up Camaro? I remember you, I remember all of it, _Mitch_.” Joey sneered as she emphasized his name. “My mother didn’t have to turn me against anyone, I know what kind of man you are and you disgust me.”

Joey stared him down and watched as her words just bounced off of him without making even the tiniest impact. Drunk or not, Mitch Clason didn’t have the ability to feel guilt or shame, in fact, Joey wondered if he had the ability to feel anything at all. His narcissism was appalling.

“Like it or not, JJ, I’m your father.” Mitch boasted. “I’m your blood. I’m a part of you whether you like it or not.”

“The police are on their way, Mitch.” Jessie intervened as she slipped her cellphone in her back pocket. “It’s time for you to go. There’s nothing for you here.”

“You fucking bitch.” Mitch darkly chuckled and Joey couldn’t tell if was impressed or mad at her mother for standing up to him and getting the authorities involved.

“Come on, pop.” Cameron stood between Jessie and Mitch as he tried to play the role of peacemaker. Joey could tell that Cameron still cared very much her mother and was trying his best to protect her. Joey was starting to wonder if maybe she had been wrong about her brother. He had handled this was well as could have been expected considering the circumstances. “I’ll drive your truck home. You can’t get another DUI.”

“My son!” Mitch praised with a loud laugh as he slapped Cameron’s back and acted as though he just realized that he was there. “My blood! Take notes, JJ. This is the way a child should treat their father. You have a lot to learn.”

“Yeah, well I feel sorry for him.” Joey fumed. “He shouldn’t be stuck wasting his life with you. Who knows what kind of person he could have been without your poison infecting him.”

For a second, Cameron looked just like a sad little kid. Joey’s angry words had hit home and she regretted not being more tactful for her brother’s sake. Afterall, if he hadn’t given her a head’s up, Evelyn surely wouldn’t have been able to get the kids out of there in time.

Joey was about to apologize to her brother, but Jessie stopped her gave and Cameron a warm sympathetic smile on Joey’s behalf which seemed to mean a lot to him.

Mitch wasn’t making much sense while Cameron tried to square him away in the passenger side of his truck. There was a lot of arguing and profanities between the two men as Cameron took his father’s keys and climbed into the driver’s side, but Joey couldn’t really make out what they were saying. It appeared as though Cameron was trying to talk Mitch out of something but he seemed to be losing.

“Here, JJ!” Mitch yelled with laughter in voice as he rolled down his window. “A special present for a special girl. I know how much you’ve always love dogs! This is exactly what you and your bitch mother deserve. I told you that she should have been a good girl. This is on you, sweetheart.”

Joey could hear Cameron ordering their father to stop and demanding that he hand something over to him. But nothing could stop Mitch from doing what he wanted, no matter how evil. It was then, to her horror, that Joey saw her father take a small object, no bigger that the palm of his hand, out of a black bag and launch it against the ground before the truck pulled away.

Cameron roared at his father and when Cameron’s eyes met Joey’s through the windshield she knew that he was mortified and furious. But brother and sister both knew that he had to get Mitch out of there before their father ended up doing something far worse, and so, Cameron layed on the gas as the truck’s tires torn up her mother’s lawn and then squealed along the pavement.

Jessie had assumed that she had a better idea of what Mitch had done than her daughter did, and so she tried to stop Joey from finding what Mitch had thrown out the window. Little did her mother know, Joey was well aware that her father had made his exit by attempting to kill a small puppy right in front of them. Joey wasn’t exaggerating when she had told Evelyn that her father was a monster. She should have known that he wouldn’t have left peacefully.

Even though Jessie desperately wanted to save her child from that kind of ugliness, she was so proud that Joey didn’t hesitate to act when she heard the small puppy yelping in terrible pain. Joey immediately ran to the wounded animal and scooped it up and let the poor thing bite at her in its confusion.

Joey was horrified by what she had just witnessed. The sun had almost disappeared, but even in the dark, she could tell that chihuahua puppy was so small and precious. Joey'd had hamsters bigger when she was a child. How could anyone be so cruel and callous to something so defenseless?

The tiny dog was so young that its teeth didn’t her hurt too badly when it lashed out. But, due to the damage done to it’s little face, Joey could tell that biting her hurt the small pale yellow dog far more than it was hurting her and so she decided to to jump into action and wrap the bottom half of her shirt around him to try and minimize it’s pain and keep him still.

“Ma!” Joey screamed. “Ma! We gotta get him to a vet!” Joey wasn’t sure what kind of damage her father had caused to the innocent little puppy, but she wasn’t going to give up on the little guy without a fight.

\-------------------------------------------

Frank had been so angry as he’d drove to the resort that he barely remembered how he had gotten there once he pulled into his parking spot. All he knew was that he had to put as much distance between him and Jessie’s living room as he could. He could have sworn that it felt as though the walls were closing in around him as Evelyn and Joey seemingly teamed up against him. Frank ended up running off to the only place that always made him feel free; the water.

 _He ran again_. Frank said those words over and over again in his head and with each repetition he hated himself just a little bit more. He’d promised Joey that he would never run out on her like he had done earlier in their relationship, but when faced with his mother’s apathetic feelings towards him, he took off for the hills like a petulant child. Evelyn had always brought out the worst in him, and that evening was no exception.

Frank walked down the longest dock at the resort and sat on the edge and listened to the waves as he breathed in the cold ocean air and tried to calm down. But he couldn’t keep his mind from racing. What that hell had Joey been thinking, Frank wondered as he watched the sun set past the horizon.

He didn’t know how long he had sat there trying to make the world make sense to him again.  
He tried to stop reliving the memory of Joey and Evelyn joining forces, but he just couldn’t seem to shake it. He was supposed to sitting with Joey on that damn porch swing right now, he fumed as he clenched his jaw and tried to relax his tense body. But the longer he sat there in the dark, the more confused he became.

In what world did Joey think that it would be okay for him to whore himself out like that? That wasn’t the woman that he loved. The woman that he loved wasn’t motivated by money. From what he knew of her past, Joey had always been more focused on having fulfilling experiences and seeing the world then padding her bank account.

Frank kept trying to simmer his anger as he searched his heart for a way that would allow him to look at Joey the same way again. He didn’t want to lose her, but if those were her true colours then he couldn’t spend his life with a woman like that. Maybe they were moving too fast and he didn’t really know her as well as he thought he did.

No. Frank refused to believe that. The Joey that Frank knew had morals and integrity and would move heaven and earth for the people that she loved. She was honest and authentic to a fault. Frank’s heart hurt as he gazed out onto the water and watched the stars come into focus and glimmer throughout the night’s sky. It was such a beautiful sight, he couldn’t help but wish that he could share the moment with Joey. He loved her so much. Why would she think that it would be okay to take a bribe, it didn’t make sense to Frank at all.

 _Unless,_ Frank winced in pain as it suddenly hit him, unless the bigger picture were more important to her. The only way that Joey would have entertained the idea of going to Montana to help his mother would be if she believed that the possible good might outweigh the bad. She’d never debase herself or pimp him out for money, but she’d suffer the indignity for a short while if it meant that he or Mary might be better off for it in the long run. She was the kind of woman that would walk on broken glass if that was what it took to help the people that she loved.

Case in point, when she had proven to him that she loved Mary more than her own pride when she had sat down with Principal Davies and flattered that woman until she agreed to enroll Mary in extra curricular activities. It was humiliating for her, but she still did it because the bigger picture was more important.

Frank thought back to how he had poured his heart out to Joey the other night by her piano. He could see the pain in her big blue eyes when she realized that she couldn’t fix his family for him. As much as he hated upsetting her, he had to admit that sharing his fears and inner turmoil had helped and it felt as though the two of them bore his burden together.

Frank took a deep cleansing breath and felt his tension and stress slowly leave his body. He was finally able to give Joey the benefit of the doubt now that he had cooled down and was thinking clearly away from his mother. Joey must have thought that it was possible for him and Evelyn to honestly come together as mother and son and live happily ever after. Joey had no idea what a terrible idea that was. Evelyn had no real interest in him and was being manipulated by her husband. How could one big happy family even work if he would always questions his mother’s motives?

But the more Frank thought about Joey’s perspective, the more Frank couldn’t stay mad at her. Afterall, Joey had a wonderful mother growing up and didn’t have nearly the same experiences that he had had to live through where their mothers were concerned. Even though Frank appreciated Jessie, Joey had to understand that Evelyn was a different animal entirely.

Frank shouldn’t have run out. The guilt just kept gnawing at his chest the longer that he sat out there in the dark. He had been trying so hard to be the kind of man that Joey could be proud of and one that Mary and Sam could look up to, and he couldn’t help but consider that he had gone and squandered all of his progress when he let his mother push his buttons.

Frank pulled out his phone to call Joey and noticed that he had let his battery die in all of the turmoil of the night. To add to his terrible luck, he couldn’t seem to find his phone cord in his truck and had to drive back home without reaching out to Joey to let him know that he was okay first.

Frank had spent the whole ride back into town rehearsing what he was going to say to Joey and considering all of the ways that he might be able to make it up to her, but all of that hope died in his chest when he entered her house and found it completely empty. Gus wasn’t even there to greet him.

For a second, Frank had considered that maybe Joey had left him, but he stopped overreacting after he opened a few drawers and found them all full of clothes.

Frank then headed to Jessie’s house, but found it just as empty as Joey’s but with ominous giant tire treads in her lawn and a fancy black Mustang parked in front of her house. Something was wrong and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Frank had no idea where his family was and headed to his house across the street to charge his phone and possibly get some answers at this late hour.

As his phone charged, it began to light up and bing with missed text after missed text. Fifteen text messages later it had become very apparent to Frank that he had made a terrible, terrible mistake. A mistake bigger and more consequential then he ever could have realized.

Frank feared that, even if he lived ten lifetimes, there would be no way that he would be able to make it up Joey. All he would think of as he headed to his mother’s hotel to be with his family was that he hoped they would find it in their hearts to forgive him one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading guys! All of your kudos and comments mean the world to me! xo


	24. "One Big Happy Family" Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey and Evelyn have a heart to heart.

**Deleted scene from Gifted that you probably should watch.[HERE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0kTQ9aXBXA)**

Joey's heart was heavy as she dragged her feet up the hotel stairs. She had just spent the last three and a half hours at the 24hr emergency vet clinic with her mother and it looked like the puppy that her father had tried to kill was going to be okay, but he had to spend the next few days with them under observation.

Unfortunately, the tiny chihuahua puppy hadn't survived unscathed. The poor thing had suffered a broken front leg and a fractured shoulder. But his most serious injury he had sustained had been to his little face. They were waiting to hear if he would have to lose one of his eyes if his condition didn't improve over the next several hours and Joey was keeping her fingers cross that that wouldn't have to happen.

She didn't care how much it was going to cost her in veterinary bills. There was no way that Joey was going to put the puppy down unless it was a last resort and for the puppy's own good. She willed the little guy to survive in spite of her father and hoped that sweet puppy would have the last laugh and live a long happy life.

To add insult to injury, the vet had informed them, as they waited for test results, that the puppy appeared to have been far too young to have been separated from his mother and suspected that the chihuahua had come from a puppy mill a few counties away that they had been trying to shut down for years.

"Fuck! Well, that answers that question!" Joey had bitterly spat out in the middle of the vet's office. Her mother had tried to calm her down in the hopes that she would stop making such a loud scene, but Joey just couldn't contain herself.

To try and appease her peacekeeping mother, Joey had instead angrily paced through the building and tried to make sense of everything and not take it out on the staff that had been just trying to help.

Everything had happened so fast, Joey didn't have time to figure out why Mitch had a damn puppy in his truck in the first place. He must have grabbed one on a whim to give her as gift but when she essentially spit in his face he took out his anger on the tiny thing.

Why wouldn't Mitch Clauson be involved in puppy mills? Nothing should surprise Joey at this point. After years of of having dog fighting as a disgusting hobby, it wasn't as though her father was would be renewing his PETA membership any time soon. Just thinking about all of those animals being abused made Joey want to scream.

The police that had been dispatched to her mother's house, were rerouted to the emergency vet clinic and Joey and Jessie had given their statements to the officers and made it clear that Cameron had done his best to mitigate the situation and shouldn't be lumped in with his father.

Before they left the vet, Joey begged the officers to get involved and stop her father from hurting more dogs, or at the very least charge him with animal cruelty. But she figured that, after years of corruption, her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Joey was barely keeping herself together as she slowly walked down the long hotel hallway to pick up Mary and Sam. The only solace that she took was that her kids hadn't been there to witness such senseless brutality. That night had been a complete nightmare so she took her wins where she could.

Joey took out her phone and checked it to see if Frank had texted her, but the only message that she found was one from Barry thanking her for her quick action at the party and telling her that Alice was okay and was finally resting.

For as much relief as the news gave Joey, she was so disappointed not to hear from Frank. Her and her mother had been texting him all night, trying to give him updates on what had happened, but had gotten nothing back from him but radio silence all night.

Joey knew that Frank was mad at her, but what she wouldn't give to feel his strong arms wrapped around her right now. He always centered her and made her feel safe and she needed to feel that now more than ever. Wherever he was, Joey hoped that he was okay and that he didn't hate her too much.

She had told Frank so many times that she wanted to go through the hard times with him, but she had to admit that him leaving her that night was a pretty hard pill to swallow. But, no matter how mad she was with him, in her heart she knew that, if Frank had been aware of what had happened, he would have rushed to her side. There must have been some kind of miscommunication like a misplaced phone or a dead battery. All she knew was that she still loved Frank dearly and she missed him more than she was angry or disappointed with him. Frank would never deliberately hurt her or the kids, Joey knew that for a fact. Forgiving him wouldn't be that hard, she decided...eventually.

For as much as Joey needed to see the kids and make sure that they were okay, she was dreading having to face music and answer to Evelyn. Not to mention having to face Mary's wrath.

In reality, it was facing Mary that worried Joey most of all. When Evelyn took Mary away the little girl had known that something was terribly wrong and had fought her grandmother tooth and nail on the way out. It was for her own good, but Joey still hated that she had to go through that and wished that she could have been the one to personally protect Mary and make her understand.

Joey's heart hurt as she considered all that Mary had gone through that year. That little girl had already gone through enough drama and upheaval during the custody case to last her a lifetime. She really didn't deserve for her birthday party end in such a traumatic way.

If that wasn't bad enough, Joey was sure that Evelyn would probably look down her nose at her as well and read her the riot act for being such a terrible influence on her son and granddaughter. Joey had been well briefed on Evelyn's uncompromising nature and braced herself for the worst.

Having her son and only grandchild surrounded by such low class thuggery was something Joey assumed a woman like Evelyn wouldn't stand for for a second, nor should she. Joey only hoped that she could make the woman understand that she was nothing like her biological father and would walk through fire to keep Mary and Frank safe from that side of her family.

Joey finally made her way to room 511 and stood in front of the dark hotel room door for a moment and ran her fingers through her hair to try and make herself look more presentable. But she knew that her efforts would be pointless. She probably looked like hell warmed over and there was little that she could do about that now. Instead, Joey tried to steady herself and figure out what she was going to say to Frank's mother.

Joey had to trust that Evelyn would eventually see that begging her boyfriend's estranged mother to essentially rescue her kids, was proof enough that she was a decent person that put her children's well being ahead of her own. Because begging that woman to help her hadn't been fun. In fact it was down right humiliating but Joey did it for her children's wellbeing and she would do it again.

Joey quickly checked her phone again and there were no new texts from Frank or her from her mother. Frank's phone must have died, Joey decided. After everything that they had gone through, Joey still had faith in him. She was worried about him, though. Joey was sure that he would end up hating himself for not being there when she needed him. Frank had always been his own worst critic.

But when it came to her mother, Joey figured that no news was good news. Joey had made sure that her mother spent the night with Sheryl since Roberta was still out of town. Joey didn't want to take any chances in case Mitch decided to show up again.

Joey looked back at the hotel door; she was stalled and she knew it. It was time to be brave.

Joey knew that she looked ridiculous as she tried to psych herself up in the hallway. She took a deep breaths and shook out her hands and rolled her shoulders and neck as if she were a boxer getting ready for a fight. Once her blood started flowing she stood up as straight as she could before she knocked on the door. Joey wanted to project as much confidence as she could to possibly try and make a better impression on Frank's mother. As pointless as that may be, hope does spring eternal.

As soon as she knocked, Joey heard Gus let out a low bark from behind the door and she reflexively ordered him to "Shh!" through the door in the hopes that he wouldn't start barking and wake up the whole floor. Gus whined and Joey could tell that he missed her and was dying for the door to open so that he could happily greet her like he always did.

Within moments of her knock, the hotel door swung open and Evelyn looked her in the eye with an unflinching quality that made Joey go pale and gulp.

So much for projecting confidence, Joey reprimanded herself. She was a terrible actress. But in her defence, she was so emotionally drained and exhausted, and teetering between numbness and letting an avalanche of emotions come crashing down. Joey just considered herself lucky that she didn't start sobbing in the doorway like an pathetic idiot.

But funnily enough, Joey wasn't the only one that looked like hell at that late hour. Evelyn didn't look as put together as did a few hours ago when she drove away from her mother's house. Her strawberry blond hair had lost a lot of its shape and luster and the older woman appeared to have more pronounced bags under her eyes. Joey couldn't fault Evelyn's appearance though, looking after two sugar filled kids and a strange dog would put a strain on anyone.

"Is he gone?" Evelyn asked more as an accusation than a question.

Evelyn stood tall and crossed her arms as she waited for an answer. She hadn't invited Joey into her suite and the lack of the standard polite gesture made Joey very nervous. After all, this was a women that she barely knew who had a history of trying to break up her family before she had even met Mary and Frank. The thought of history possibly repeating itself was making Joey sick and she wasn't sure if she had the strength in her for another emotional conflict.

"He's gone." Joey answered with certainty as she tried to play the role of a woman that had her shit together but feared that Evelyn could see right through her.

Evelyn had, indeed, seen right through her and narrowed her eyes. She was clearly unsatisfied with Joey's short glib answer and wasn't going to back down until she elaborated.

"It was messy, I won't lie." Joey confessed and hated how shakey her voice started to sound. "And kinda scary. Thank you for taking the kids. I hope that they were good for you." Frank's mother nodded and softened a little, but she still hadn't made a move to welcome her inside while Gus whined for her behind Evelyn. "I still haven't heard from Frank and that's not like him. Has he called you?"

"I doubt that I'm on my son's speed dial, dear. I'm sorry." Evelyn sincerely apologized. "Are you alright? You look like hell."

"Thanks, I feel like hell. But I'm still standing...barely." Joey tried to smile.

"That man was your father, was he not? How can you be so sure he isn't coming back?"

"Well, if history is any indication, he won't be showing his face for a few decades. But if he does come back then we'll get a restraining order." Joey shrugged. That was the best answer that she could offer.

"'We'll get a restraining order?' He's your problem, isn't he? Do tell, how much of this have you dragged my son into?"

"With all due respect, Mrs. Alder, we can't choose our parents." Joey looked her in the eye and now Joey was the one the was unflinching as she stood her ground.

Evelyn seemed to respect Joey's subtle blow, and finally motioned for her to come inside her suite. And boy what a suite it was, it really felt more like a fancy apartment. The foyer area lead into a posh living area, and behind that was a full dining room. Joey had cleaned rooms like this ages ago in Rome and had no idea that anything this grand existed in Pinellas County.

Gus was finally able to come and greet her and Joey didn't hesitate to drop her knees and hug the dog's neck.

Everyone was going to be okay. Everyone; even down to Gus and the little pup at the vet even stood a fighting chance. Joey was so profoundly grateful but she could feel Evelyn's eyes on her and pulled herself together before she started crying her eyes out.

"Where are the kids?" Joey sniffed and looked away to dry her eyes. "It's really late, I should be getting them home."

"Nonsense. They've been sound asleep for hours in the second room. There's no need to wake them. Have a seat." Evelyn motioned to the dining room. "You look like you could use a drink."

"You're not wrong." Joey couldn't help but puff out a small laugh. She'd kill for a margarita from Ferg's at the moment. "Just let me check on them first."

Joey told Gus to go lay down as she carefully opened the door that Evelyn had gestured to and the sight behind the door completely warmed her heart and she couldn't help but let out a shaky emotional breath. Joey had no idea just how badly her heart needed proof that Mary and Sam were okay until she saw it for herself with own eyes.

The elegant guest room in Evelyn's suite had two double beds, but that hadn't stopped Mary and Sam from sharing one of them together. They were indeed fast asleep and both were wearing new pajamas that Joey had never seen before. Evelyn was resourceful and must have tended to their needs in a pinch; Joey respected the hell outta that.

Joey crossed her arms and leaned against doorway and let the dim light from the hallway illuminate their cute little faces. Now that she knew that the two of them were safe, Joey could finally breathe freely for the first time in hours. She was truly amazed that her heart had the capacity to love two little people as much as it did.

Joey had freaked out once and complained to Frank that, now that she was a mother, her heart existed outside of her chest and that it scared the hell out of her. But now, Joey was watching both pieces of her heart sleep soundly together in that double bed and it was a wonderful feeling. Becoming a mother really blew her mind sometimes.

Joey enjoyed the peace and was lost in her thoughts and had barely noticed that Evelyn had been standing beside her and had been watching her as she watched the kids sleep.

"History has a way of repeating itself." Evelyn sadly stated as she looked out on the sleeping children and handed Joey a glass of red wine. It wasn't a margarita, but Joey took a sip and quickly realized that both Frank and his mother had absolutely wonderful taste in wine.

"How so?" Joey whispered. There was a melancholy in Evelyn's voice that wasn't there five minutes before.

"Mary and Sam. Frank and Diane. There's very little difference, really." Evelyn pointed out. "Mary loves that little boy with every single inch of her mighty heart."

Evelyn seemed proud of her granddaughter and Joey appreciated her observations. Mary did indeed love Sam fiercely and that little girl's heart was anything if not mighty. Maybe Evelyn had it in her to be a half decent grandmother to Mary if she could recognize the things that truly mattered to her granddaughter.

"Diane worshipped her older brother...whether I approved or not." Evelyn confessed with a small smile and looked lost in her memories as she continued to watch the children sleep. "I always saw their relationship as a distraction. But I see now that Frank was Diane's window to the rest of the world. Diane loved him the same way that Mary loves that little boy. There's so much of her mother in her, it's uncanny."

"I wish I could have met your daughter. But, you know, I see a lot of Frank in Mary." Joey carefully disclosed, testing the waters. She really didn't want to fight with her but Joey couldn't help but put in a good word for her man. "I told him that once and...and well,... it meant a lot to him."

"I see it, too." Evelyn quietly agreed. "Mary wanted to turn back and stay with you, tonight. She knew that something was wrong, and by god, she was so determined to stand by you and fight side by side. But when Sam started to become frightened, Mary took care of him all night."

"That doesn't surprise me. The two of them are very close." Joey smiled proudly.

"That was the way that Diane loved Frank, it was like I was reliving a scene from their childhood tonight. But the honest truth is, Mary has a fire in her that is all Frank, there's no denying it."

"Frank isn't weak." Joey whispered and Evelyn solemnly nodded and took another sip of her wine when she realized that she was politely being called out on her past insults. "I'm happy that you can see that. When it comes to the people that he loves, Frank..." Joey got choked up and tried not to cry. Frank was still mad at her and she had never felt further away from the man that she loved. "Frank might not always make all of the right decisions, but he isn't weak. The things that he had been through, and burdens that he carries - a weak man would never be able to bare them."

Evelyn's eyes glossed over with tears and she looked away and tried to downplay them and Joey played along and pretended that she hadn't seen her get emotional. Evelyn Adler was indeed a human being with a beating heart, who knew. She did loved Frank, that was becoming very apparent to Joey. She just wished that Evelyn could extend some of that emotional honesty towards Frank as well. They both would be the better for it.

Joey handed Evelyn her wine glass and padded over to the kid's bed and softly kissed each of their foreheads and tucked them in properly. After the events of the day, they were exhausted and barely stirred when she whispered 'sweet dreams' and told them that she loved them. Joey took one last look at the them and silently hoped that, next year, their birthday wouldn't be spoiled by the darkness of her past.

\----------------------------

Joey had resigned herself to spending the night in Evelyn's lavish suite. It didn't take that much convincing on Evelyn's part to get her to stay. It was late and Joey couldn't bring herself to leave Mary and Sam after everything that had happened that night.

Joey still had no idea where Frank was. She considered jumping in her car to try and find him but had no idea where to start looking. Pete, the bartender at Ferg's, promised to text her if Frank went to the bar. Since she hadn't heard anything from him, Joey figured that Frank was clearing his mind by the water somewhere. Since they lived near the coast, the possibilities were endless.

So her and Evelyn had sat down at the fancy dining room table and shared a bottle of expensive wine together. Why not. After everything that Joey had faced that night, Evelyn should be a piece of cake, right?

Joey quickly recapped the events of the evening for Frank's mother and was pleasantly surprised, that instead of lecturing her or condemning her, the british woman cheers her bravery and cursed Mitch under her breath.

"Bloody bastard." Evelyn muttered.

"You're not wrong." Joey sighed with a reluctant smile. Maybe it was the wine or the late hour, but Evelyn seemed to let her guard down with her.

"To level headed women and, that wee pup." Evelyn toasted as she raised her glass and Joey followed suit.

Joey couldn't believe how pleasant Frank's mother was with her. Only a few hours ago, in her mother's living room, the british woman had considered her an interloper and had looked down her nose at her. But here they were in her hotel room, and now they felt like old comrades on the same team. Joey wasn't sure if she was being played, but she was really curious about Evelyn and wanted to judge for herself how evil the woman truly was since everything she knew about her came from second hand accounts from Frank and Roberta.

Thinking about Frank made Joey miss him so she pulled her phone out of her pocket, hoping to hear from him. But tried to hide her disappointment when she found no new texts or messages.

"He'll call, dear." Evelyn reassured her.

"You think so?" Joey looked up from her phone and was shocked by Evelyn's optimism.

"Actually, I'm the last person that could predict what my son will do. But isn't that the proper thing to say?" Evelyn chuckled with a light smile. "Frank needs time to calm down and think things through...but he's always been so spiteful and vindictive." She added with a shake of her head. "But I don't say that to hurt you, Josephine, especially after everything that you've been through tonight. I'm just being honest about my experiences with him."

"He'll call." Joey confirmed with a sharp nod of her head. "I believe in him."

A small smile crossed Evelyn's lips and her eyes warmed towards Joey for the first time since she had met her. It was progress Joey decided and watched as Evelyn reached over and topped up her wine glass.

Joey texted Frank to let him know where she would be spending the night and, as she put her phone away, she just hoped that all of the alcohol Evelyn was feeding her wouldn't cause her to say something stupid.

\---------------------

"The thing is...Well, the thing that I think, anyway." Joey covered her mouth when she hiccuped again. Joey was on her second glass of wine and had already apologized to Frank's mother four different times for not being able to hold her liquor. "Frank would have cut his own arm off if there was even a 10% chance that Mary would end up like Diane. When it comes to protecting the people he loves, he just isn't willing to take any chances. I think that's why he doesn't want to go to Montana. Just the idea of something bad happening is enough for him to shut down."

Evelyn's eyes widen as she tipped her wine glass up and quickly finished the contents of her own glass as if she were taking a shot. Joey almost laughed at her but then realized how untactiful she had been. Shit, right out of the gate, Joey had put her foot in her mouth.

"I'm so sorry." Joey stammered as she replayed in her drunk mind what she had just said. They were discussing Evelyn's offer and it had just slipped out. "I'm drunk...and that was rude. I never meant to imply that you didn't care if the same thing happened to Mary, as well."

"It's alright dear, you've already warned me about your non existent alcohol tolerance...many times, in fact." Evelyn wickedly smiled as she filled Joey's glass. "Don't you dare repeat, it mind you,...but Frank may have been right on a few counts back then. I mean, not his dreadful living conditions or him trying to pretend that Mary was an average first grader. But I was going to send Mary on the same path that I had Diane marching on. I even had some of Diane's old tutors ready to work with Mary ten minutes after meeting her. I had them on the phone as I drove away from his house, in fact. Even now, there is a large part of me that still believes that Mary owes it to the world to be the best mathematician that she can be."

Joey had to blink a few times to comprehend what was she hearing. Joey might now be on her third glass of wine, but Evelyn was actually opening up to her. If Joey didn't know any better, Evelyn had not only, grown and found some self reflection since the custody case, and she was sharing it with her of all people. Joey wasn't sure what to make of it; but she didn't sense any duplicity from the older British lady.

"Where do you stand on that whole mess, Josephine?" Evelyn asked and broke her out of her thoughts. "I assume that you would take Frank's side and think of me as an evil villainess."

"Mrs. Alder." Joey hiccuped.

"Enough with the 'Mrs. Adler' nonsense. If you're comfortable enough to hand your son over to me, the least you could do is call me Evelyn."

"True." Joey smirked. "But look, the custody case isn't like a Team Edward Team Jacob scenario."

"What in the world?" Evelyn's laughter rang out through the hotel suite and it sounded like her british accent was getting thicker the drunker she got and the more comfortable she became. "I need more wine if you're going to start throwing around pop culture references."

Evelyn pushed herself up from the table and called down to the front desk and asked for another bottle of wine to be brought to her room and also asked that the concierge arrange to have someone take Gus outside for a short walk. Joey couldn't help but giggle when Evelyn looked down at the golden retriever and playfully threaten him with a haircut, it seemed so unlike her.

"I have a good mind to get you groomed, as well, young man." Evelyn threatened Gus with a wag of her finger and the phone still attached to her ear. "Your hair is on every single inch of this suite."

Gus seemed to take it personally and hid his face in shame and that only endeared himself to Evelyn further and caused her to ask the hotel operator if they had any dog treats that they could send up and charge them to the room, as well. When they informed her that they didn't have any on hand, Evelyn splurged, yet again, and ordered the dog a steak from room service instead.

Apparently, Frank's mother was much more of a dog person than a cat lover Joey surmised with wide eyes. But before Evelyn put the phone down and rejoined Joey, she added a second bottle to her order, just in case.

Joey was trying to keep an open mind, but she was actually starting to like Evelyn. Or maybe more accurately Joey was starting to like drunk Evelyn.

After the stress of the day, the wine went down too smoothly and was effectively melting away all of Joey's stress. She was still worried about Frank and Alice and if the puppy's condition had improved, but she knew that there was nothing she could do for anyone now in the middle of the night. She needed to unwind a bit and figured that she'd deal with the fallout in morning after a good night's sleep.

Thinking about sleeping alone made Joey's chest ache for Frank so she pulled her phone out her pocket to see if he had texted her, but was gutted when she noticed that her battery had died. Frank couldn't contact her now, even if he wanted to.

"So let's get to business, shall we." Even drunk Evenly was still formidable and Joey sat up a little straighter in her chair and tried to wish away the alcohol that was clouding up her mind. "Even with my son's unfortunate exit tonight, I have a feeling that you are going to be a permanent fixture in his life and I have a few questions that I would like answered."

"Oh no, this isn't the 'what are your intentions with my son' talk is it?" Joey teased as she tried to mimic a terrible british accent. " 'Cause I dunno if I'm cut out for a big white dress. So just between you and me, I'd just prefer living in sin than making an honest man out of him."

"You're a clever one, I like that." Evelyn smirked and allowed Joey to see more of her playful side. "I'm beginning to see what Frank sees in you. But he's a grown man. My consideration is, of course, for my granddaughter."

"I see. I figured as much." Joey winked and took another sip of her wine.

"I have come to care for her. Mary that is." Evelyn's voice was full of emotion and Joey could tell that she was being honest with her. When Evelyn was open and sincere Joey couldn't help but be reminded of how Frank would open his soul to her from time to time. It was a dazzling feeling that must be an Adler family trait. It only made Joey miss Frank even more. "I can only imagine what you've heard, but Mary is very dear to me now."

"She's very dear to me, too, Evelyn. She's a very easy person to love, just like her uncle." Joey added with a sweet smile.

"Frank has made it very clear where he stands on her childhood and her education. I'd like to know what your thoughts are. What kind of life would you like for Mary?"

"If you got me drunk to ask me if I planned on being becoming some kind of algebra calculus stage mom, I'm sorry to disappoint you." Joey quipped with an indignant giggle.

"I don't blame you for believing that that would be what I would want. Mary's gift is very important, but I'm asking you more broadly. I'm trying to get to know you and find out what I'm dealing with. You handled tonight as well as could be expected and have earned my respect...and well, your influence over my granddaughter will be an important one. You see, Frank has a dreadful way of-" Evelyn sighed when Joey raised an eyebrow at her, expecting another insult to follow. "He has tendency of denying the truth and foolishly hoping that everything will simply work out on their own."

"I take it that it's not your style?" Joey asked, half teasing.

"What do you want for Mary." Evelyn asked her again earnestly, ignoring Joey's teasing. "Have you even given it any thought? I know that you want her enrolled in that silly local elementary school again."

"That principal is such a bitch!" Joey lightheartedly laughed and Evelyn agreed and laughed along with her. Of course Principal Davis would go behind their backs and contact Mary's grandmother again. "It's not what you think. We don't want them educating her in the traditional sense. We just don't want her to miss out on any of the fun social parts of elementary school. It's a hard balancing act to pull off, but Mary's worth the headache."

"That doesn't really answer my question, Josephine." Evelyn countered. "I really do want to know how you feel about the ugliness that happened between Frank and I. You had no issues with referring to Mary as your child. I don't take that lightly and quite frankly you could have pushed me over with a feather when I heard you so readily admit it. Despite our differences when she passed, I loved my daughter with all my heart... but now her only child might have a new mother in her life...I'm just trying to make sense of everything."

"I can understand that. Why do I have a feeling that if I said that I just wanted Mary to be happy, that wouldn't be the kind of answer that you'd be hoping for?"

"You would assume correctly." Evelyn agreed with a sternness in her voice. "Keep in mind that Mary has a gift, a gift that comes with responsibilities."

Joey took and deep breath and really considered the question before she gave her answer. Being tipsy wasn't helping Joey's eloquence but at least it was making her more forthright and honest, if not downright blunt.

"I want Mary to know herself." Joey began. "I want both of my kids to know themselves. They're rockstars and I want them to believe in themselves. But I really want Mary to know her limits and to push them when she can. I want her to be strong and compassionate and to be a part of the world. I want her to succeed, but when she fails I want her to learn from her mistakes and not let her screw ups define her. I want her to grab life by the balls." Joey's frankness caused Evelyn to choke on her wine, but Joey didn't let it stop her and her heartfelt ramblings. Now that she was putting her hopes for Mary into words, Joey couldn't seem to stop. "I want her to follow her heart and travel and see the world. I want her to do things that'll turn my hair grey like I turned my mom's." Joey laughed.

"Your lovely mother doesn't look the type for grey hairs." Evelyn praised through her coughs. It was nice to know that her mother had left a good impression on her.

"Trust me, they're just well hidden under her dye job." Joey took another sip of wine and was lost in her future hopes for Mary. "I think what I want most of all is for Mary to know that we love her unconditionally and that we'll always be there for her no matter what. I'm not dumb, I see the way that Mary lights up and get lost in her studies. Math really is her passion and I want her to go as far as she can go with it. I really want to help her accomplish her dreams, but I want them to be her dreams."

"I see."

"And...well the only way that she'll know if they're her dreams will be if she knows herself first, and I think she has to have a childhood and have an idea of what the whole world has to offer before that can happen."

Evelyn cleared her throat and looked uncomfortable with her answer, but it had been the truth and Joey didn't regret anything that she had said.

"But, at the end of the day," Joey added. "I do think that Mary will end up doing extraordinary things because she is an extraordinary person already; with or without math. And I really want to be there cheering her on." Joey admitted. "The thing is, math is a world where she really thrives. Mary does have a gift, we all know that. But there is a very good that chance that she might fail somewhere down the line and I really want her to know that she has more to offer the world than just her mathematics. I want me, Frank, Sam, Roberta, and my mom to be her safety net to catch her when she falls. That's what family is for. We're a family, and that includes you too, whether Frank admits it or not."

"That's...that is very noble." Evelyn admired as she cleared her throat again and looked away for a moment. Joey's words appeared to be making Evelyn emotional but Joey couldn't stop herself from confessing everything.

"Maybe you think it's selfish, but I really want Mary to be a part of my world, as well." Joey added. "I really don't know if I'm making any sense. But in my defense, you and Frank pick out delicious wine." Joey teased

"You might have a rare opportunity to learn from my mistakes, Josephine." Evelyn confessed after a long silence. "I'm not one to admit my failings, but I have recently come to the conclusion that I did, indeed, fail Diane."

"Oh, Evelyn, stop. Man, you Alders." Joey smiled as she shook her head in amused disbelief. "You and Frank are more alike than you realize. I'll tell you the same thing that I told him. You are not responsible for Diane's choices. I hate that she took her own life, but it isn't your fault and it isn't Frank's either."

"Frank blames still himself?" Evelyn was shocked by Joey's admission and in her outrage almost stood up from the table.

"I thought...I thought that was common knowledge. Diane came to him that night." Joey summarized quickly. "She needed to talk, but he didn't take the time to listen to her and he's never forgiven himself. Granted, intellectually he knows that it wasn't his fault, but he regrets leaving her that night and he's never really gotten over it. "

"I did know that, I thought that he originally took Mary out of that guilt, but...still? He still harbours those feelings to this day?"

When Joey slowly nodded her head she could clearly read the fresh pain in Evelyn's eyes. She must have assumed that Frank had gotten over his feelings of guilt years ago and learning that her son still carried that burden pained her as it would any mother.

"Frank and I said such horrible things to each other when Diane died. I'm ashamed to admit that I might be responsible for the making him believe that he could have done more for his sister. He's never been shy about blaming me for her suicide...so, spitefully, I fought fire with fire."

"I think he wishes that you had made different choices when Diane got pregnant. But it's not fair of either of you to think that Diane's death was anyone's fault but her own, and I've told him as much."

"I know that your heart is in the right place, my dear, I'm afraid that you might be wrong. When I read..." Evelyn paused and swallowed hard before she spoke. "When Frank gave me her proven theory and I read through her notes. I read every word, and every scribble. Seeing her handwriting again after all this time...it..."

"I so sorry," Joey felt tears well up in her eyes as she watched Frank's mother try and pull herself together and explain herself in a shaky voice that sounded nothing like the strong confident woman that she had gotten to know over the course of the night.

Before Evelyn could finish, there was a knock on the door and Joey left Evelyn at the table to answer it, but not before Joey squeezed Evelyn's shoulder as she walked passed. Joey couldn't believe that her and Evelyn were actually bonding and hoped that their new understanding lasted longer than a bottle of wine.

"You were saying something about Diane's notes." Joey reminded her as she sat back down across from her after tipping the bellhop for the wine and the steak and giving him Gus to walk.

"Yes, well needless to say," Evelyn began. "I wish that Frank had brought her problem to me years ago. It was a damned Millenium Problem for the love of god!" Evelyn cursed through her teeth. "My apologies."

"Don't ever apologize for being passionate. I want to hear all of this." Joey admitted.

Evelyn gave her a nod to convey that she appreciated Joey's respect for her strong feelings, and poured them another glass of wine. Joey didn't scare easily and Evelyn respected that.

Joey could tell that Evelyn was unburdening herself and she didn't want to stop her. Who knows how long Evelyn had been holding all of this in for. From the little that Joey knew of her, she figured that Evelyn kept her walls up higher than Frank's, and because of that, she didn't have a lot of personal friends to share her true self with. It pained Joey to discover another way in which Frank and his mother were alike.

"After Diane died, he hated me. Frank that is. I could see it in his eyes. He blamed me for her death, and he wasn't shy in expressing his destain for me. He was drenched in resentment and judgement. We couldn't even look at each other with fighting. Little did I know at the time, he was right. But I was mourning too and I couldn't see things clearly."

"Tensions were running high, the two of you had suffered a terrible tragic lost." Joey wished that she had known Frank back then so that she could have comforted him. Hell, Joey wished that she could have comforted Evelyn, as well. "It wasn't your fault, though. It wasn't either of your faults."

"See that's where you're wrong. I read her through her notes and her journal and at the end of the problem. Journal..." Evelyn bitterly laughed to herself as if journal were an absurd notion. "It wasn't a journal it was her bloody suicide note. She had solved the problem and had no idea what to do with her life, and wrote as much. Diane felt that she had accomplished everything that she could and that there was nothing left for her in this world. Frank was right. Diane didn't want me to have Mary, and she wanted me to go to my grave believing that she couldn't finish the theory and that I had failed as a mother. There was no need for Frank to tell me, she had written it all down herself. But I must admit, there was a part of me that hoped he was lying in order to take Mary back...but it was all there in black and white. Even the part where Frank had tried, in vain, to talk Diane out of waiting for me to die before she published her theory. In the end, my son hadn't been my most hateful child, after all."

Joey had no idea what had stopped her from crying, maybe she was still in shock from all of the emotional trauma of the evening. But Joey could feel Evelyn's pain radiating off of her in waves. Mothers are never supposed to outlive their children no matter the circumstances. Joey empathized with her so clearly it was as if Evelyn's pain were her own. The sharp finality of death made it impossible for Evelyn to ever make things right with her daughter and it broke her heart.

"I pushed her. All of her life I drilled it into her head that they only thing worth living for was success. Then out of the blue she got pregnant and I turned my back on her and the child. I screamed at her and told her that she would amount to nothing. I treated her pregnancy as a personal betrayal and decided, then and there, that I would never lay eyes on her child. I called her a failure. I told her that I had wasted my life on her and her gift. That was the last thing that I said to Diane. It only made sense that once she achieved success...she'd make sure that I always believed I was correct."

"No. I don't accept that. Diane was mentally ill. She had a brother that loved her and beautiful baby that she should have lived to raised. What happened was tragic, but we're all just doing the best that we can."

"I did the same to Frank." Evelyn stated as if she hadn't heard Joey. "I scarred him with my vicious words. I never should have said those terrible things to him years ago...then I came back into his life after so many years and I tried to take Mary from him. I always believed that I was doing what was in the best interest of the people I loved...but look at all of the damage I've caused..."

"Oh Evelyn, I'm so sorry." Joey reached across the table and took her hand. "If I'm lucky enough to be in Mary's life for the long haul I will try and learn from your experiences with your daughter." Joey affirmed. "And your experiences with your son, for that matter. I'll always watch for signs of depression and love Mary through all of her choices, whether they are good ones or bad ones, the same way that my mom did for me. You asked me what I wanted for Mary. Fuck it, I want it ALL for Mary. I want her and Sam to have everything and I am ready to fight like hell to make sure that they get it. Does that answer your questions? Cause I'm kinda baring my soul here." Joey giggled and effectively broken the emotional tension.

"I like you." Evelyn smiled and puffed out a laugh as she squeezed Joey's hand before taking it away to brush away her tears. "I really tried hard not to, you're not making it easy on on me."

"Boo hoo." Joey teased. "I'll play with some flowers and send you a nice sympathy bouquet. I'm serious though, I want Mary to have everything and that includes having her grandmother in her life. It's not too late, Evelyn."

\--------------------------------

The two of them spent the next half hour drunkenly retelling their life stories to each other. Evelyn told her about her time in Cambridge and Boston, and Joey told her about her travels and how she had become Sam's foster mother.

That was when Evelyn confessed that once she had learned that her son was in a serious relationship for the first time in many years, she'd looked Joey up and discovered that her son's new girlfriend had been a fairly successful photographer many years ago.

Evelyn had done her homework and ended up knowing more about Joey's past career than Frank did, sighting past photography awards that Joey had won and coveted contracts that Joey had landed early in her career.

That conversation inevitably lead to why Joey had given it up and Evelyn couldn't believe that Joey had given up her blossoming career because Joey's boyfriend, at the time, had gotten arrested and she'd pawned off all of her gear to bail him out of jail and cover his lawyer's fees.

Evelyn had assumed that Joey had been flighty and irresponsible and hadn't taken her career seriously. She had never suspected that Joey had given up her career for a man in a similar way that she had.

"It was stupid and I totally regret it." Joey confessed as she focused on not slurring her words. "It was a really bad time in my life where I didn't realize my own worth. I actually never told Frank about that. He's been bugging me about taking up photography again."

"Really? He has? I'm impressed."

"Yeah, he's so cool about picking up on things that matter to me and making them a priority. I've never been with a man that really gave a shit about what I wanted. It always seemed like it was my job to make the guy I was with happy, but with Frank it actually goes both ways. I actually have a photography job coming up soon at that 'silly local elementary school'" Joey teased Evelyn in a cheesy british accent again. "It sucks that I'll have to rent all my gear for that gig, though. But I'm kinda looking forward to it."

"Whatever happened to the boy?" Evelyn asked as she poured Joey another glass of wine.

"A week later I came home and he was fucking my roomate on my kitchen table."

"Disgusting." Evelyn scoffed.

"I know, right? I eat there!" Joey laughed.

"Photography was your passion, I take it?"

"Maybe. Kinda." Joey considered more to herself than to Evelyn. "No, it was my passion. It really was. There's no point in downplaying it." Sadness washed over Joey as she considered all that she had given up for a stupid boy. She promised herself that she would never let Sam or Mary make the same mistakes that she had. "Photography is my passion, present tense." Joey corrected herself with a newfound confidence that made Evelyn smile proudly at her. "I loved seeing life through a lense and capturing moments in time. It always gave me a sense of purpose...I felt alive. I've only ever felt that way again when Sam came into my life and then again when I met Frank and Mary. One day I'll save up and buy my own photography gear again. It would kill me to think of one of my kids giving up what they love, I should set an example for them and get back at it."

"I think that we might be more alike than I ever considered, my dear. I gave up my dreams and ambitions for a man as well." Evelyn confided in her.

"We're not that much alike." Joey laughed to herself.

"Oh?" Evelyn enquired with a raised eyebrow.

"No, sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." Joey cursed her sassy drunk mouth, she knew that it would get her into trouble.

"Please. Continued." Evelyn challenged and smirked when Joey squeezed her eyes shut and cursed her outspokenness as if she couldn't see her.

"Not to be rude," Joey qualified first. "but if I really believed that Mary would have been better off with me I never would have a chosen a stack of papers over her future."

"You think that I made the wrong choice, do you? You'd rather that I had fought Frank harder?" Evelyn added with a pointed look. "Taken her back to Boston with me?"

"No that's not what I'm saying. Mary is exactly where she belongs. What I am saying is, I will always choose Mary."

"As you should." Evelyn agreed in a soft voice that didn't sound like her own.

Joey watched as Frank's mother gazed down at her wine glass and she wasn't sure if she had crossed a line or not. Joey was about to apologize for drinking too much again when Evelyn started shaking her head.

"'Stack of papers.'" Evelyn scoffed. "That stack of papers was my daughter's legacy. It was Navious Stokes! I owed it to the world- "

"Mary is your daughter's legacy." Joey interrupted when she sense Evelyn going on a rehearsed tangent. "You have to agree that Mary deserves to be with a family that will always choose her and put her before anything."

"I do agree. That was why I decided on the foster family option over sole custody." Evelyn admitted. "Frank would only have been 20 minutes away from her."

"Frank is her father...I know that he's her uncle, but that's just semantics and labels. Maybe...maybe he originally took in Mary out of guilt, but he grew into her father and he loves her just as much as any father would. Being 20 minutes away from her? Mary might as well have been on the moon."

"It broke my heart, but it was the only option that I could live with at the time. You love Mary as a mother would." Evelyn answered her with conviction. "I can see it in your eyes. I'm grateful that I didn't have to go up against you during the trial. Between you and Frank, you two would have made a formidable team."

"You're right about that. I would've kicked your british butt, lady." Joey winked and was delighted to get a sly wink back from her. "Look, you don't have to answer, but seven years?"

"Pardon me?"

"Seven years. I've been dying to ask you. Why in the world would it take you seven years for you to find Mary? Do you have any idea what I would give to have known her back then? To have been a part of her life from the beginning?" Joey watched Evelyn's face fall and she worried that maybe she had pressed a button that she shouldn't have.

"I was angry." Evelyn confessed. "Not at Frank, but at myself. Well," Evelyn tilted her head a little as she reconsidered. "Maybe I was upset with Frank, as well. Like I said, he blamed me for Diane and the hatred in his eyes was too much for me handle. He has the ability to close himself off in a way that would be truly remarkable, if it weren't so painful."

"I know what you mean." Joey sniffed and pressed her lips together. She'd was currently being frozen out by Frank and she was very familiar with the pain that it caused.

"Back then, when we were hurling insults at each other." Evelyn volunteered. "Frank landed a few truthful blows that hurt. He was right. If I were there and in her life, Diane would have stayed on track, but I abandoned her and her baby and Mary would always be a living reminder of that choice." Evelyn confessed.

"I see."

"No, a reminder of that mistake." Evelyne corrected herself. "You see, we always seem to find a way to hurt each other, my son and I. I trusted that Frank would continue to remind me of my failings and after losing Diane, the wounds were too raw and our little vindictive dance became too much for me handle. But, I had no idea that Mary had inherited Diane's gift and that Frank was ignoring her genius. But before I was informed of that fact, I always trusted that Mary was in good hands with my son."

"You and Frank both loved Diane." Joey whispered after she let Evelyne's words sink in. It had never really occurred to Joey that the chip on Frank's shoulder had been a great source of pain to his mother. "I'm so sorry that the two of you lost her so young. I really wish that Mary still had her mother in her life. It would be great if I could play the role of the cool aunt that got to spoil Mary from time to time. But as thing stand, I do love her as if she were my own daughter and would step in front of a train for her. But we are very different people, you and I. My hopes for Mary are nothing like the hopes that you had for Diane. I want to Mary solve her own millennial problem one day, but I also want her to be strong enough to walk away from it if it isn't what she wants. But between you and me, that's pretty unlikely." Joey mused with a groan and a playful eyeroll. "Maybe I will end up as an algebra calculus stage mom one day, whether I like it or not." Joey laughed.

"I'm starting to understand you, Josephine." Evelyn concluded. "And as much as it aggravates me, I'm willing to meet you and Frank halfway. Especially since you are both taking her schooling somewhat seriously. But there will come a time where my experience and connections will prove useful, and I hope that, she when that day comes, you won't hold Mary back out of pride or spite."

"I won't, but of course Frank gets a say in all of this, as well. But I can tell you is this, though, Frank is not where he was months ago when you first fought him for custody. He knows that Mary is special and he doesn't want to hold her back anymore. He's grown in a lot of ways, actually. Frank's my favourite person, I think you'd like him if you gave him a chance." Joey playfully sung out with a smile on her face.

"So. Is it possible that I might not be the wicked witch of the west anymore?" Evelyn smirked as she took another sip of her wine and ignored Joey's silly endorsement of her son.

"No Evelyn, of course not." Joey slyly winked. "You live on the east coast don't you?"

"What about Montana?" Evelyn asked as she openly giggled. "Are you willing to make the trip and appease my silly cowboy husband."

"That's up to Frank. You should talk to him about it again. But my advice would be not to bring up money. But if you're willing to sincerely work on your relationship with him than maybe he'll come around, but I can't promise anything."

"I wouldn't even know where to start with him."

"You lost two children years ago, Evelyn. I might be speaking out of turn, but I think that if you were willing to put in some work then maybe one of them doesn't have to be lost forever."

"Frank has always been so unreasonable..."

"Pot and kettle." Joey giggled as she took a sip of her wine. "He thought he was being bought." Joey countered after she was done giggling. "Obviously money means nothing to the man, or he'd still be teaching, or in a field that made more money. But, between you and me, having a healthy relationship with you would be good for him. He just needs to know that you are in it for the right reason's or he'll never feel safe with you."

Before Evelyn could answer there was another knock on the door and, this time, Evelyn got up to answer it. Joey's words were still ringing in her ears and she needed a moment to let them sink in. Evelyn did want her son back in her life but was afraid of being hurt by his neverending judgement and resentment.

"Do you mind telling me why I found my dog being walked by some bellhop outside?" A familiar male voice with a thick Boston accent accused from the hallway.

"Frank!" Joey was so happy to hear his voice that she jumped up from the table and heard her chair fall behind her as she scrambled to get to him.

Evelyn opened the door wider and stepped out of the way as Joey sailed towards him and ran into his waiting arms.

Frank let go of Gus's leash and caught Joey in his arms and lifted her feet off the ground. He was so relieved to find her that he squeezed her so hard that he ended up making her squeak when he took all of the air from her lungs.

They both apologize to each other at the same time over and over again and Joey finally let all of the tears that she had been holding in for hours fall freely down her face. She was such a mixture of relief, joy, and sorrow. Frank's presence allowed her to feel every emotion so strongly, she couldn't seem to bare them all at once.

"Are you okay?" Frank desperately asked into her hair even though he knew that Joey couldn't be okay in the slightest. He carried her into the suite with her feet dangling, while his mother closed the door behind him and tended to Gus and gave him the steak that was waiting for him. "I went to the resort to cool off. But when I went home and you guys weren't there, then I went to Jessie's and she wasn't home either. I was so worried, then when I charged my phone and found your texts...I shoulda been there with you, baby. Shhh, please don't cry. I'm the one that's sorry."

"I love you so much, Adler." Joey wept and held on to him as tight as she could. "I'm so sorry, I just wanted you to have your mother back, I never meant to hurt you...I'll always be your family."

"I know, Joe. I know. I made a mistake." Frank admitted as he held her tight. "I'm so sorry."

"Please don't leave me again. It was awful. I was so scared and I needed you. I missed you so much." Joey was crying so hard that she could only speak in short bursts before her sobs took over her voice.

"Stop." Frank sniffed and felt his eyes well up with tears as he listened to Joey continue to repeat how scared she had been. She felt so small in his arms, he tried not to crush her as he hugged her back. "I made a mistake. I'm so sorry. God, I love you, Joey. I love you so much"

Frank's heart hadn't felt this terrible since he had to face Mary's wrath after leaving her at that foster home and he found himself making the same silent promises to himself that he had made back then. Never again would he hurt the people that he loved like that. He will be a better man and learn from his mistakes. This time it would stick. It just had to.

"I knew that you would have come if you known." Joey whimpered with her bottom lip quivering. "I was so scared for the kids. If anything had happened to them..."

"Stop, Kincade." Frank begged while she sobbed. Having her express how scared she had been was just killing him. "I know. I'm here now, I'll never run again. I never should have said any of that shit to you in the first place. I know that you're my family." Frank's voice broke and he could hardly speak past the hard lump in his throat. "I made a mistake."

Joey continued to cry into his neck and Frank couldn't keep his own tears at bay. He should never have left like that. Frank could remember every single time that he had looked into Joey's big blue eyes and vowed to himself that he would protect her, and it gutted him to know that he had failed when it mattered.

Evelyn, who had been trying to give the couple their privacy, had heard every emotional word uttered between them. She gestured to Frank and showed him where they could sleep and opened the door of the guest room for them.

Frank nodded his head to his mother but refused to put Joey down on her feet. Sure it might have been a little too schmoopy or dramatic, but after the texts that he had gotten from Joey and Jessie that had explain the entire night to him, Frank wanted to savour every second of having Joey safely in his arms.

Especially since, he had half expected Joey to have greeted him with a deserved slap across the face. Frank kept her in his arms and counted his blessings. Even though he'd been such an ass, Joey still loved him. Her faith in him made his mistake hurt even more for some reason.

Frank quietly brough Joey into the adjoining bathroom and ran them a shower, careful not to wake up the kids. As tear stained as she was, Joey was still the most beautiful person that he had ever laid his eyes on and he couldn't have loved her more. He hated himself for not being there for her when she had needed him the most and hoped that she would forgive him.

To try and make it up to her, Frank undressed the both of them then held her under the spray of the shower as she cried on his shoulder and told him everything that had happened between her and her asshole father. Frank was so angry but tried to care for her the best he could and kept his rage to himself. Instead, he rubbed her back and told her how much he loved her and how brave and strong she was.

Frank was so grateful that the water from the shower concealed his own tears when he traced his fingertips along the bruises that Joey had received when she had run square into her father and fell to the ground. Her bruises looked so dark against her pale skin, but she assured him that she was fine and tried to get him to stop fussing over them.

Frank was so proud of Joey for thinking on her feet and getting the kids out of there in time. If that bastard had touched a hair on Mary or Sam's heads Frank would have lost his mind. It was taking all of his self control to not jump into his truck and hunt Mitch down after putting his family through hell that night.

He really hoped that Joey would be okay. The tiny hiccups that escaped her lips between her sobs were a tell tale sign that Joey had had too much to drink but Frank was pleased that his mother had tried to look after his girl in her own way in his absence.

The two of them were exhausted when they finally laid down in bed and poor Joey was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Frank, on the other hand, just gazed at her from his pillow and considered the depressing fact that he might never be able to become the man that he wanted to be.

Frank looked up at the ceiling and listened to the chorus of soft breaths coming from his family as they all slept safe and sound; no thanks to him. It took everything in him not to break down and cry. All he wanted was to be a good father to Mary and Sam and be the kind of man that Joey could be proud of. Those goals had never felt more out of his grasp then in that moment.

His failure stung deep and he began to feel that familiar self loathing depression rearing its ugly head again. He hadn't been hit with a visit from his old friend in ages; he'd been so happy lately, there'd been no need to hate and punish himself like he used to.

In her sleep, Joey must have sensed Frank's pain and she reached out for him and placed her head on his chest. They always seemed like magnets when they slept together and Frank had never been more grateful for their weird sleeping habits. He needed her now more than ever.

"I so sorry." Frank whispered into the dark as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close against his body. "I never wanted you to go through that alone. I should have stayed with you, the same way that I should have stayed with Diane seven years ago. Please, Joey...please don't leave me."

"Shhh. Hard stuff remember?" Joey mumbled into his chest with a low gravelly exhausted voice. "We can make it through the hard stuff, I know we can. Stop hating yourself." She ordered. "You're my family, Adler. You're stuck with me forever." she added with a yawn.

"I'm so sorry."

"I know, I've already forgiven you and everyone is okay...I still love you." Joey muttered before she fell back asleep.

Frank took a deep breath and tried to believe her. Sleep started to take hold of him and as he drifted off he could have sworn he heard Joey quietly murmuring something about dog grooming, raw steak, and some kind of camera lense. He puffed out a small laugh at her cuteness and kissed the top of her head. He would've listened to her talk in her sleep all night if he weren't so exhausted himself.

"I love you, too, Josephine." Frank whispered as she slept on his chest. "You deserve a lot better than a guy like me."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! All of your likes, kudos, and comments truly give me life. You guys are seriously the best.


	25. "Dreams"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey try to deal with the fallout of their eventful night.

Joey slowly stirred from her sleep and quickly regretted opening her eyes. Her head was pounding and she felt like she had just been hit by a bus. Hangovers were never fun, but they especially weren’t fun when you were waking up in a strange bed, alone, and were still feeling terrible about the everything that had happened the night before.

The thick curtains were still drawn as Joey let her eyes adjust to the dim light of the posh hotel room and noticed that the Frank and the kids weren’t there. Then she slowly replayed all of the drama that had transpired in her mind before she even attempted to move a muscle. Needless to say, she regretted all of the wine that she had drunk with Frank’s mother and foolishly vowed to never consume alcohol again for as long as she lived.

Joey could hear the faint sounds of cartoons playing in the living area and Mary and Sam laughing and she loved that they still sounded like normal happy kids and promised herself that she’d never get annoyed by their loud boisterous sounds ever again. Sam and Mary meant everything to her and Joey wanted them to have the best childhood possible, despite Mitch’s appearance her life.

Her mother must have made similar promises to herself about her and Alice, Joey mused. Maybe Evelyn was right, history did have a way of repeating itself.

Joey wanted to see her kids and cuddle them and even considered leaving the comfort of her warm cozy bed to join them. But before she could drag her lazy butt out from the luxurious thousand thread count sheets, the door to the guest room slowly opened and Frank tiptoed inside wearing yesterday’s clothes, carrying a tray of goodies with him.

He didn’t know that she was already awake and he was trying very hard not to disturb her. Frank was adorable and, for as horrible as Joey physically felt, she just couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he quietly placed the tray on the nightstand and sat down on the bed beside her. She was so happy that, once they moved in together, he would always be the first person that she saw every morning. Frank was her person. Even her crazy hangover couldn’t hide the butterflies that he always gave her.

She only hoped that he still wanted to move in with her after everything that had happened. Joey cringed when she remembered how she’d cried excessively on his shoulder as soon as he'd walked through the door last night. She’d been a drunk emotional mess but, in his defense, Frank had stepped up and hadn’t hesitated to look after her the best that her could. In fact, Joey’s heart warmed as she remembered how tender he was with her and how supportive he had been. She loved that man’s heart and how he always tried to put her happiness before his own.

Joey was so proud of him and how far he’d come since they'd gotten together. Frank was really a dream come true. He was proving to her that he was a person that she could lean on when life enevidably got rough and messy. He was really trying to have an honest meaningful relationship with her and she admired all of the effort that he put in everyday. Joey knew that allowing himself to experience such deep intimacy had never been easy for him. She just hoped that she worth all of his effort. She wanted to be his dream come true as well.

“Hey, Kincade.” Frank quietly sung out when he noticed her awake and peering up at him with a loving twinkle in her eye. She looked like a little kid alone in such a big bed. He brushed some of her hair away from her face and cherished the sweet little smile on her face. As always, the kindness in her eyes just completely slayed him. No person should look that beautiful first thing in the morning, and with a hangover no less. “How are you feeling?” He asked with a pained expression, expecting that she must feel like hell based on the amount of empty wine bottles he had disposed of that morning.

“Ugh.” Joey moaned and let out a little whimper that made him chuckle.

“That bad, huh?” Frank knowingly smiled down at her. Hangovers were something that he’d been very familiar with in the not so distant past so he was very sympathetic to her plight. He wished that it was possible to for him to take her pain away. He’d gladly go through it for her so she didn’t have to.

“Remind me not to drink with your mother again.” Joey complained in a deep rough voice that didn’t match how precious she looked. “She drank me under the table.”

“Here, I figured you’d need these.” Frank smirked as he took two Tylenol off the tray and a handed her a glass of orange juice.

Joey propped herself up on her elbows and gladly took the medicine and chugged the orange juice down as if she were dying of thirst. The cold crispy liquid was simply divine and Frank was amused with her reaction.

“Are the kids okay?” Joey asked as she wiped her mouth with the back on her hand.

“Yeah they’re watching cartoons. Sam is coughing a little bit though, but he’s not warm.” Frank informed her as he took her glass and placed it back on the tray. “He must have caught something  from one of the kids yesterday. Evelyn is in her room making some calls. I’ve already walked Gus, I just wanted to give you some time to sleep before we got out of here.”

“Gosh, I like you.” Joey teased with a cheeky smile.

“Are you sure about that?” Frank asked, half joking.

“I’m positive, Adler.” Joey sighed as she fell back onto her pillow. “In fact, I’m sorta in love with your cute grumpy butt.”

Frank shook his head in amused disbelief and Joey just smiled up at him and hoped that her pain killers would kick in soon.

“You were really great last night.” Joey acknowledged with warm loving admiration.

“Was I?” Frank incredulously dismissed her praise as he puffed out a self deprecating laugh. “I really wish my phone hadn't died last night.” Frank added with a sigh and sad shake of his head.

“Me too.” Joey playfully pouted and cutely stuck her bottom lip out. “But once you got here, you were kinda awesome. Fun fact, Adler. I’ve never let guys see me like that, or let them be in a position where they felt like they had to look after me. I always felt like they would let me down or think less of me. But you stepped up when I needed you. You didn’t turn away and you made me feel safe. You’re getting really good at this messy relationship stuff, aren’t cha.”

“I’m trying...and well, you’re a great motivator, Joe.” Frank flirted with sad eyes. “You know that I would have come back sooner if - ”

“Of course I know that. I knew that last night, too.” Joey reassured him as she played with his fingers.

“I wasn’t trying to punish you by not coming back to help. I was mad, but I’d never do that to you.”

“Of course not!” Joey laughed. “That never crossed my mind for second. You’re the quiet damaged hot guy, not some kind of mean psycho.”

“I really am sorry.” Frank apologized again. “I shouldn’t have ran out like a child having a temper tantrum. It just that this stuff with my mother...it’s no excuse…it just makes me so defensive. I hate how quickly I can lose it.”

“I understand.” Joey soothed. “You’re used to having to protect yourself whenever she’s around. I get it.”

“But you shouldn’t have to understand. You didn’t want any of the dark shit from your father to touch me, and I don’t want any of this stuff with my mother to touch you.”

“But you see, we’re going to have to figure out a way to share all that crap with each other, Frank.” Joey pointed out. “I want us to share our lives together...and that means all of the dark and complicated stuff, too. Hard stuff, remember?”

“You’re right, as usual.” Frank added with a cute little eye roll that made Joey giggle. “But, you gotta know Joe, I’m so so proud of you the way that you handled everything last night, after I stormed off.”

“I didn’t really do anything, I just reacted.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You thought on your feet made sure that no one got hurt.” Frank pointed out with a serious look in his eye.

“Well, not exactly everyone.” Joey sadly reminded him, referring to the puppy.

“Yeah, that was pretty fucked up.” Frank looked away as he clenched his jaw in anger and disgust. Frank still couldn’t believe that that had happened. If that bastard was capable of doing that to a small puppy, Frank didn’t even want to think about what Mitch could have done to Mary or Sam, let alone to Joey. “Look Joe,” Frank ran his hand down his face and took a deep breath. “I gotta tell you something. I called your mom this morning, to apologize and see if she was okay after everything that went down.”

There was something in Frank’s voice that concerned Joey and she tried to prop herself up on the bed again but, when he noticed a pained look on her face from her headache, he motioned for her to stay where she was.

“The vet called…” Frank began in a small voice as he tucked Joey back into bed like he’d done to Mary countless times.

Joey’s heart sank and she pressed her lips together and looked away. She braced herself for heartbreak when Frank took her hand and his eyebrows made that cute worried V shape. That had always been a tell tale sign that he had bad news to give her.

“Fuck.” Joey muttered under her breath as she assumed the worst. Having the puppy survive was a hope that she had clung to. A silver lining in all of the darkness. Having the little guy succumb to his injuries during the night threatened to break her heart all over again and her bottom lip started to quiver. That chihuahua didn’t deserve what happened to him, the cruelty and unfairness of the situation was beyond frustrating.

“Hey hey, don’t cry. He’s okay.” Frank reassured her when he noticed her lip shaking. “The vet called your mom this morning to let her know that they are going to have to remove his eye, after all. The swelling had gotten worse during the night and she signed off on it.”

“Poor guy.” Joey whined as she wiped away her tears with her hand.

“Having one eye isn’t the end of the world. Just ask Fred.” Frank dryly teased with a charming smile.

Joey let out a shaky breath and Frank smiled at her and placed a soft lingering kiss on her forehead. He loved how much she cared. His girl’s heart was truly remarkable and always took his breath away. He wished that he was worthy of her.

“How’s your arms?” Frank asked with concern to try and change the subject.

“Sore, but I’ll live.” Joey grinned. “It’s my hangover that might actually kill me, though.”

Frank loved that she could still be sweet and funny when she felt like hell. He leaned down and softly kissed her lips and when she kissed him back Frank could have sworn that he felt his heart ache in his chest for her. No person had ever made him feel this connected to the world.

Frank took comfort in the fact that their connection was still there, even after everything that had happened. In fact, it felt even stronger than before. Going through the hard times and coming out the other end intacted had been Joey’s wish from the beginning, and now, Frank could see why. Good times and bad, he wasn’t alone in the world anymore, and it was all because of Joey.

Frank deepened their kiss and wished that he could truly thank her or put into words what he felt for her, but instead, he settled for physically showing her as he kissed her soft lips.

“We’re going to be okay, Frank.” Joey whispered when she could feel an outpouring of love and concern flow through his tender kiss. “You don’t have to be worried or try make it up to me. I forgive you. But I gotta tell you, now that I’ve had some time to think, I’m sorta glad that you weren’t there when Mitch showed up. In fact, I really shouldn’t have tried to get you to come home at all. If you were at the resort then you were safe and out of harm's way. Calling you was selfish. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“What? No no no no, _always_ call me, Joe.”

“But, if you were there, you and Mitch would have probably gotten into some kind of macho pissing match.” Joey explained. “And nobody wanted that.”

“Glad that you think so highly of me.” Frank sarcastically quipped with a smile and raised eyebrow.

“I’m sure you would have held your own, tough guy, that’s not my point.” Joey groaned and rolled her eyes. “But it would have killed me to have the kid’s birthday party end the same way as our first date, Frank. Mitch would have started something with you if you challenged him or tried to protect me and my mom. If Mary and Sam had been there to see a fight break out…”

“I get your point.” Frank sighed as he ran his hand down his face. Yeah, whether he won or lost, that would have been the absolute worst case scenario. Mary had seen him bruised up before, but she’d never seen him in an actual altercation. “That would’ve been… you’re right, that would’ve been devastating. Especially with my mother looking on. Look, I love that you’re so willing to forgive me, and that you’re the kinda person that wants to protect me, but I never should have left your mom’s house in the first place. I knew that your father had been stalking you. I just wasn’t thinking.”

“I should have explained myself better.” There was enough blame to go around and Joey met him halfway. “I wasn’t trying to sell you out or pimp you out to your mother.”

“I know.” Frank sighed again. It should have been obvious to him then, he still felt like such a dumbass for not realizing it at the time. “But, as unlikely as it is, you gotta let me and Evelyn sort things out ourselves. I don’t want you to get caught in the crossfire again, like last night.”

“You’re right...for once.” Joey smirked. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

Frank smiled as he gazed down at her in the bed felt their electric connection bonding them and pulling them together. He was about to kiss her again when, to their surprise, the door to the room burst open and Sam came running in in search of his mommy.

“Good morning, mommy!” Sam enthusiastically announced as if he were hosting a game show.

Frank and Joey both giggled at his cuteness and Joey stretched out her arms and motioned for him with grabby hands to crawl into bed with her. An invitation which he accepted with gusto.

While Joey cuddled and tickled her son and asked him about his cough, Frank smiled at them and ruffled Sam’s hair. It was a great moment until Frank noticed that Mary was leaning against the doorframe with a somber look on her face; refusing to join in with the fun.

“Hey, kiddo.” Frank beamed at her but Mary refused to meet his smile with one of her own.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Frank asked with concern when Mary looked down at her feet and refused to answer him. That was never a good sign. Mary looked up and gave Joey a cold stare and he could sense that there was something going on between his girls.

“Frank, can you give me and Mary a chance to talk.” Joey interrupted as she handed him a giggling Sam and sat up on the bed.

“Okay?” Frank was still confused, but followed Joey’s lead and carried Sam back out into the living room, but not before he kissed the top of Mary’s head as he passed by her. Having Mary be upset with Joey was a first, the two of them were usually so close and practically in sync with each other. But as unsettling as it was, Frank trusted that Joey could handle it and make it right.

All Frank heard as he closed the door behind him was Joey apologizing to Mary and telling her that she’d really messed up. Frank really had no idea what was going on between them, but he marveled at how different Joey’s parenting techniques were compared to his mother’s. Frank couldn’t remember his mother ever taking responsibility for her actions, let alone ever apologizing to him.

Speaking of Evelyn, she hadn’t emerged from her room yet so Frank layed down on the couch and let Sam jump all over him as he watched his cartoons. He figured that Sam couldn’t be that sick since the little guy couldn’t sit still for a minute. In fact, he used Frank as his own personal jungle gym as he sat on him in all manner of odd positions. As annoyed as he pretended to be, Frank really loved it; minus the feet in his face.

“I’m starting to think that you’re going to put a lot of miles on that new swingset of your’s, Sam I Am.”

“No more ‘Sam I am!’” Sam corrected him with his eyes glued to the tv and his voice full of laughter.

“What! Since when!” Frank played along. “I thought Green Eggs and Ham was your favourite book?”

“It is, but I don’t wanna eat ‘em!” Sam squealed. “Green eggs and ham are yucky!”

“I think you missed the point of the book, little man.” Frank chuckled as he grabbed Sam’s belly and tickled him.

“Grandma Jess said that green stuff on food means it coulda gone bad.” Sam explained while he tried to get away from Frank’s playful tickle attack.

“Ah, I see her point.” Frank smiled as Sam laid his head down on his chest and caught his breath. “Love you, Sam. You’re the best.”

“Love you, too, Frank.” Sam started to cough a little bit and Frank rubbed his back until he stopped. “...you can call me ‘Sam I Am.’ I changed my mind.”

Frank kissed the top of Sam’s head and closed his eyes as he smelled his strawberry scented shampoo, but he looked up when he felt that he and Sam were no longer alone in the room. To his surprise, Frank found his mother standing in the doorway watching them. Frank had no idea just how long she had been there, but judging by the twinkle in her eye, she found the intimate scene between him and Sam touching.

Frank was about to get up, but Evelyn motioned for him to stay where he was and took a seat in the armchair beside the couch.

“I’d like to talk to you again about coming to Montana.” Evelyn began in a sweet voice that Frank didn’t trust. “Josephine and Sam would be welcome to come as well, of course. I believe Walter as a pony that the children would -”

“Evelyn.” Frank sighed. Sam was still laying on his chest and was the only thing that stopped him from snapping at her. “This isn’t the time or the place to discuss this.”

“I understand,” Evelyn begun in an uncharacteristically soft voice. “But this is important, not just for Diane’s theory, but it’s important for you and -”

“Now you can stop right there.” Frank interrupted and didn’t let her finish. He sat up with Sam and placed him on the couch beside him and tried to keep his voice down. “Thank you for your help last night, but Joey and I are fine. At least, we’re financially fine. I can’t help you right now. I have to focus on my family after everything that happened last night.”

Frank shot her a sharp look of warning when they both heard Joey and Mary coming out of the guest room. As far as he was concerned, the conversation was over. He would not be bought by his mother and he wished that she would stop trying. He tried not to let the hurt and disappointed look in her eye change his resolve.

For as annoyed as he was with his mother, Frank and was delighted to see Mary looking a lot happier coming out of that room than she did going in there. He knew that Joey would find a way to make it right.

“Everything okay?” Frank asked Mary. “What did you guys talk about?”

“Girl talk.” Mary quipped and refused to give any more details.

Frank looked to Joey for answers, but she just knowingly smiled at him and gave a conspiring winked to Mary. It was great to see Joey and Mary smiling again and back to their old selves. Joey even had some colour back in her cheeks, as well.

“How are you feeling, my dear? Did you sleep well?” Evelyn asked Joey with a warm hearted concern that Frank was completely unfamiliar with.

“I slept great. I’m a little worse for wear, but I’ll live.” Joey politely reassured her and looked away in embarrassment only to have Evelyn smile at her in an attempt to comfort her and put her at ease.

Frank didn’t like what he was hearing and had to do a double take between Joey and his mother. The two of them sounded like old friends and Frank didn’t like it one bit.

Frank couldn’t help but sense that his mother’s plan was to use Joey in order to get what she wanted when he refused to help her for a second time. He had promised Jessie that he would look out for Joey and not let his mother hurt in any way and had every intention of keeping his word.

“Are you all hungry?” Evelyn asked. “I could order some room service and we could all have breakfast together.”

“That’s alright.” Frank answered sharply before anyone could accept her offer. There was a big part of him that didn’t want to share Joey and wanted to limit her time with Evelyn and keep her all to himself. “We should get going, we have some cats to feed and the kids have a new swingset to break in.”

“Very well then.” Evelyn could tell that she getting blown off, but the there wasn’t much that could be done once the kids jumped into action and said their goodbyes and rushed to the door as soon as Frank reminded them of their lavish birthday present.

“Thank you again for everything that you did last night, Mrs. Adler.” Joey gave her a small smile but shyly looked away again. Joey wished that there were a way that she could truly express her gratitude. If Evelyn hadn’t taken the kids away when she did, who knows what could have happened.

“Please, do call me Evelyn.” Frank’s mother pleaded as she took Joey’s hand. “You were a delightful drinking partner. I can’t tell you how happy I was to help, Josephine. I do want you to know that nothing that happened last night was your fault, dear. If you need anything at all, you have my number.”

Frank thought he head was going to explode watching the two women act so friendly together. He wasn't sure if he had ever heard his mother so warm and supportive before, which made him suspect that she was up to something and Frank wasn’t going to let her manipulate Joey’s good and trusting nature.

“Goodbye, Evelyn.” Frank cold stated as he ushered Joey to the door and called for Gus.

Joey barely had a second to properly say goodbye as Frank practically dragged her out the door and down the hall.

They split up and took their respective vehicles home, but not before Frank grabbed Joey kissed the life out of her in the parking lot. They finally had a second to themselves with the kids out of sight and waiting for them in Joey’s car a few parking spaces away, and Frank couldn’t seem to help himself.

It felt as though he were feeling every single emotion maxed out at an eleven all at once. Love, guilt, fear, relief, jealousy, hope, anger, and now that Joey was kissing him back and running her hands up the inside of his shirt, all of those emotions were being channeling into a red hot passion. Now Frank could add horny as hell to his list of raging emotions, as well.

“Wow.” Joey hummed against Frank’s wet lips. “Where did that come from?”

“Remember that really sexy girlfriend I was telling you about?” Frank reminded her with a devilish twinkle in his eye. “Well, I can’t tell you how badly I need to fuck the shit out of her right now.”

“Frank…” Joey could feel his erection pressed against her leg and his warm breath against her face. He was serious and he couldn’t have been sexier as he looked her in eye with a heated stare. “Do you wanna drop the kids off with my mom?” Her painkillers had kicked in and Joey was more than game to let Frank have his wicked way with her that afternoon, but of course, they had two little adorable responsibilities to tend to first.

“I want you so bad, Joe.” Frank groaned his words through his teeth and grabbed her ass hard with both hands. He wasn’t sure what had come over him but needed her so powerfully that it almost concerned him. But Frank wasn’t interested in self reflection at the moment. All he could think of was getting Joey naked and in his bed. Taking what belonged to him was his singular focus. He had never wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Joey in that parking lot. He would have fucked her in his truck, if could have gotten away with it. She was everything.

“I can see that.” Joey teased and bit her bottom lip as she discreetly cupped his tented crotch in her hand. “I can feel that, as well...always impressive.” She hummed at his remarkable size and felt him push himself into her hand. “You never disappoint, do you, Alder?”

“Get the kids to your mom’s and then get in my bed.” Frank ordered with an authority in his voice that made Joey’s knees go weak. “I’m gunna make you come so hard and devour you as if you my last meal.”

“Are you okay?” Joey whispered as she rubbed her nose against his. Frank never failed to turn her on, and now was no exception. She just wasn’t sure where all of this passion was coming from all of a sudden and a little voice in the back of her was telling her that something might be wrong.

“I’ll be a lot better once I’m inside you.” Frank stated without missing a beat. “I swear,” Frank held her face in his hands and studied every single inch of it and tried to memorize every beautiful detail. “I swear, you are the best thing that ever happened to me, Joe.”

“Meet you there.” Joey purred as she bit her bottom lip again. Joey was satisfied with his answer and completely flattered by his heartfelt praise. That little voice in the back of her head had been drowned out by how loved and wanted he made her feel. “I’ll be the one that’s naked, wet, and aching for you to fuck me, baby.”

“You want it?” Frank darkly asked as he pressed his erection against her again and collected her hair at the base of her neck and held it tightly. “It’s all yours.”

“Holy shit,” Joey gasped when he pulled her hair down causing her chin to raise and he started to kiss and suck down the side of her neck in the middle of the parking lot. Her body never failed to respond to him, hungover or not, she was already wet and ready for him. “I want it, but…”

“Say it again.”

“I want it.” Joey moaned as the combination Frank’s soft lips and his rough beard worked their magic on her. “Fuck, I want you. But you’re making my mind go all fuzzy. You gotta stop or I’m going to end up blowing you in the middle of the parking lot and I don’t wanna get arrested.”

Frank burst out laughing against her neck and reluctantly let her go, but gave her butt and quick smack as she walked away.

“Gosh, what’s gotten into you.” Joey giggled on her way to her car.  
  
Joey felt as though she floated all of the way home and couldn’t seem to stop smiling. Her mother, as expected, had no issue with watching Mary and Sam for her and she rushed across the street to Frank’s house.

Frank had been laying in wait and, as soon as she opened his door, he swooped in and pressed her against the nearest wall.

His eyes had completely glazed over with lust and she could barely keep up with his greedy lips as his strong hands groped and explored her body. How in the world had she found a man so perfectly hot and sexy, she loved the way he smelled and the way he could make her feel. She was so alive when Frank loved her like that, they felt like the only two people in the world.

“You’re amazing, you know that.” Frank praised against her lips before he ran his tongue along her full bottom lip. “How wet are you?”

Frank didn’t wait for her to answer. Instead, he slipped his hand inside the front of her jeans and panties and explored for himself as Joey closed her eyes and softly moaned.

“You’re so wet for me, Joe. You never disappoint, either.”

“You’re really good at that, Mr. Playa.” Joey giggled and moaned at the same time as his fingers teased and explored her pooling wetness. His Boston accent was as thick as ever and hearing it was making her even wetter.

“No more Mr. Player, Joey. I’m not playing with you and I’m never going to be playing again. You’re it for me. I meant it when I said that I wanted to spent every single night with you on that porch swing.” Frank stated with breathless conviction as his lips dove for her neck and begun to worship her.

“Slow down, baby. Slow down.” Joey begged. Hearing him declare his love her like that was too much and she felt like she was about to fall part under his passion. But he kept kissing and worshipping her as if he hadn’t heard her. “Damn it, Frank. Gimme a minute.”

Frank automatically backed away and took his hand out of her jeans and quickly turned away from her. He wasn’t angry with her rejection, but he needed to collect himself and come back to earth. He was practically out of control, and he didn’t want to be that guy. The idea of being the kind of guy that pressures the woman they’re with for sex unnerved him to his core.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were into it.” Frank apologized without looking at her. Pressuring her had never been his intention. He’d been so wrapped up in his own shit, he hated that he might not have picked up on her cues before hand.

“No. I am.” Joey assured him. “I really am. But what’s going on with you? I’m so turned on, but I’m also worried about you. It’s confusing me. I’m not sure whether to jump your bones or hug you and figure out if you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.” Frank lied.

“Bullshit, Alder.” Joey giggled as she pulled off her shirt in one fluid motion. “Spill it, and then come back here and bang me silly.”

Frank couldn’t help but puff out a loud laugh at her blunt cuteness. He adjusted his jeans to try and make room for his raging hard on and resigned himself to spilling his guts to her. Shirtless or not, Joey had a way about her that made it impossible for Frank to lie to her for any length of time.

“I hated how friendly you were with my mother, okay.” Frank confessed. “There I said it.”

“Are you jealous?” Joey incredulously asked as she pushed herself off the wall and unfastened her bra. She knew that she could easily put his mind at ease and was thankful that it hadn’t been something more serious.

“No.” Frank quickly answered as he watched her skillfully seduce him.

“Good. Because I’m not gunna lie to you, she brought out the big guns last night and I ended up kinda liking her. She’s an Alder after all, and I’m your family’s biggest fan.”

“Great.” Frank rolled his eyes and sensed his impending defeat. “If I didn’t wish I had gotten your texts sooner, I sure as hell wish I had now…”

“Frank, she was horrible to you. It’ll take more than a few bottles of fancy wine to make me forget that. But she’ll always be your mother and Mary’s grandmother so it’s nice to know that she doesn’t hate me anymore. But hey, if you want me to keep on hating her with you, I will. Just say the word. I was drunk as hell last night so I’ll be the first to admit that I could be completely wrong about her. But it’s you that I’m hot for, baby…” She made her point by shrugging off her pink lace bra and tossing it in his direction.

“If you only knew how much I love you…” Frank said more to her bare breasts then he did to her face.

“You love my boobs.” Joey giggled as she grabbed him by the waist of his jeans and yanked him closer to her.

“I definitely love them, too. They’d never gang up with my mother against me.”

“Neither would I, smartass.” Joey countered. “I just wanted you and Evelyn to try and work things out. I think that it would be good for you.”

“We gotta stop talking about my mother, Joe.” Frank sighed, but smiled broadly when Joey burst out laughing against his chest. “Or I’ll never see your boobs the same way again.”

“Fair enough.” Joey purred as she slowly dropped to her knees and popped the button on his jeans and freed his hard cock from the confines of his pants. She loved the way he closed his eyes when she began slowly stroking him. “It’s you that I want, baby. Now let me take care of you.”

\--------------------

An hour later, Frank’s heart was still thundering in his chest and couldn’t seem catch his breath. Even though he was close to exhaustion, he had no intention of calling it a day. They were both on the floor and Frank was still inside Joey and was wondering to himself if he had ever come that hard before.

But Frank was still restless and hungry for her and grateful for all of the time that he had put in at the gym over the last few weeks. Not to mention that Joey’s mom was so willing to look after the kids in the middle of the day.

Because even though he had just made love to Joey in about every single square inch of his little house, and had made her come countless times in the last hour, Frank still needed a second round to fulfill him. She was amazing and he was absolutely insatiable, especially now that he felt that he stood a chance at keeping up with her.

Makeup sex had nothing on this kind of sex. Sex after a potentially traumatic situation really should be in a class of its own. It was powerful and cathartic in a way that Frank had never experienced. He needed to cherish Joey and celebrate she was okay and that nothing terrible had happened to her.

Even though he had come, Frank was still hard and he couldn't bring himself to get off of Joey. He was still turned on and everything was so clear and focused when their bodies were connected like that. Frank’s restless mind was still and he was able to live in the moment while he loved her. Giving Joey pleasure made him feel like he had a purpose in life and he never wanted that feeling to end.

“Baby.” Joey tried to get Frank’s attention as he laid on top of her and kissed up and down her neck. His lips traveled down her body, but he made no move to get off of her. She couldn’t believe that he was still so revved up after just recently coming. If she had one more orasgam Joey was sure that she was going to break in two. “Water.”

“Huh? What’s that.” Frank asked as he looked up from her breasts.

“Water. That was way too good. I need some water or you’re gunna kill me.”

Frank propped himself up and smiled at her as he brushed her wild hair away from her face. “We can’t have that now, can we.” he charmingly smirked as he admired her naked body beneath him. “Like I said, I’m a one woman man now. You’re the only one for me. I’d miss you far too much, Joe.”

“On the other hand, death by oragsam don’t sound like a bad way to go.” Joey playfully mused as she ran her hands along Frank’s sweaty back. “But I gotta say, your stamina has definitely improved. I’m considering hitting the gym myself, now.” Joey giggled.

“Do you have any idea how lucky we are?” Frank considered as he finally crawled off of her and helped her up off the ground. “How many people go through their whole lives and never feel a tenth of what we feel when we’re together.”

Hearing her grumpy old man sound so optimistic made Joey stop in her tracks and she abandoned her trip to the kitchen for water and flew back into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I love you, Frank.” Joey professed as she kissed the corner of his mouth and moaned when he grabbed her ass and lifted her up off the ground and made her wrap her legs around his waist.

They were lost in each other as they passionately kissed. Their frenzied tongues dipped into each other’s mouths, but Frank still had the wherewithal to head to his bedroom. They hadn’t quite made it to his bed the first time and had settled for his living room floor, but this time, Frank opted for a more comfortable location.

That was until they heard Joey’s phone ringing from inside her purse and Frank reluctantly put her feet back on ground.

“It might be Sam.” Frank considered out loud. “He had that cough this morning, remember.”

Joey nodded her head as she answered the phone and, sure enough, Frank’s instincts had proven correct. Joey could hear Sam coughing in the background as her mother explained that her foster son’s cough had gotten worse and he had started asking for her and Frank.

“Duty calls, Adler.” Joey teased, with her phone still attached to her ear. “Tell him that we’ll be over in a second, Ma. Are you at your place or mine?”

“We’re at your place, sweetheart.” Jessie explained. “Sam wanted his stuffed penguin and the elephant that Frank got him and Mary is reading in her room...well the guest room, but you know what I mean. It’s practically her room.”

“It’s her room, Ma.” Joey smiled but her heart hurt when she heard Sam start coughing again. “Poor thing. Is he warm?”

“A little bit. I hate to leave you with a sick kid, but-”

“Oh, you have that bridge club thing today!” Joey interrupted and finished her mother’s sentence for her. “Sorry I forgot. I just gotta throw some clothes on, and I’ll be right there.”

Jessie and Frank both started laughing and Joey realized what she had just said and deep bush burned her cheeks.

“I mean...I..uh.” Joey stammered and wished that the ground would swallow her whole.

“It’s all right, sweetheart.” Jessie giggled. “I wasn’t born yesterday. In my day I-”

“Nope. Sorry. Not having this conversation. I don’t need to hear about your day, Ma.” Joey protested as she giggled and caught the clothes that Frank playfully threw at her.

Frank and Joey got dressed as fast as the could and teased each other that this might be the last time that they would have to be sneaky to fool around once they moved in together. All Frank had to do was talk to Mary and find out she was on board, then they could officially start their new life together and finally share a bed.

They crossed the street hand in hand, just in time to witness a delivery van stop in front of Joey’s house and start unloading box after box and place them on her porch.

“What the hell?” Frank mused. “A little late night Amazon shopping? Did you order something when you were plastered last night?”

“No.” Joey smiled as she smacked him. “There’s gotta be some mistake. Maybe Barry went overboard again?” Joey suggested. The last time Joey had a surprise delivery, Alice’s boyfriend had gifted her a new set appliances. This felt like deja vu all over again.

Joey was confused, but the closer that they got to the house, the clearer the labels on the boxes on her porch became. They were all various camera and lighting brands that Joey had been familiar with years ago. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her eyes went wide and she felt like she had just won the lottery. There was enough high end photography gear sitting on her porch to start a small studio.

“Josephine Kincade?” One of the delivery men with a clipboard asked as they approached him.

“Yes. That’s me.”

Joey’s head was spinning as she signed for the many boxes. She was sure that the man had explained to her the contents of the boxes but Joey hadn’t heard a word that he’d said. His voice sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher once it dawned on Joey that Barry had no idea that she used to be a photographer.

Joey began to feel a sense of dread wash over her. What if all of this had come from her father as some kind of twisted apology? Her heart sank as she realized that there was no way that she could accept all of this if it came from Mitch.

“Wait. Who? Why?” Joey stuttered as the delivery man walked away. “This..this doesn’t make any sense.”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” The man turned on his heel and handed Joey a note before he got into his truck and drove away. “Have a good day, Miss.”

“Let me guess, my mother?” Frank fumed as Joey read the note and waited until she dropped her shoulders in relief and nodded her head, before he freaked out. “I can’t fucking believe this! That’s gotta be what she was doing in her room all morning.”

Frank scanned Joey’s porch and all of the boxes and wondered if they would even be able to open the door to the house. This was completely outrageous. Evelyn had no right.

“She couldn’t buy me, so now she’s trying to buy you.” Frank bitterly stated.

“It says that she wants me to follow my dreams.” Joey answered him without looking up from the note. Joey was so happy that her father had nothing to do this, and was flattered that Evelyn would do something so special for her. “She believes that Mary and Sam will follow their dreams, as well, if I show them how. She wants to invest in me and wished that someone had done the same for her.”

“Let me see that delivery slip. I’ll call them and get them to bring it all back.”

“Wait!...I mean.” Joey panicked.

A part of her knew that Frank was right; she couldn’t accept such an extravagant gift. If Frank was right, and Evelyn was trying to buy her, she was barking up the wrong damn tree. Joey would always side with Frank and her family, no matter what.

But Joey also knew that it would take her years to save up the money to purchase this kind of gear on her own. All of the packages sitting on her porch were truly life changing. Joey was tempted to keep all of it but...Frank was right, as much as it pained her, it would all have to go back.

“Joey?” Frank swallowed hard as he watched Joey hesitate and look to the porch and then back to him.

Frank thought it he was going to be sick as he read all of the disappointment in Joey’s eyes and he knew nothing would be the same between them again. Frank knew how important photography was to Joey and now he was taking the opportunity away from her. Joey would inevitably see him as another man that stood in the way of her dreams.

“You’re right.” She finally decided in a small voice. “Here.”

Frank stood there dumbfounded as he slowly took the delivery slip from Joey. In his heart, he realized that his mother had finally won. He was almost impressed with the speed and accuracy it took for his mother to completely destroy his life. Afterall, she had only been in town for a day.

Everything started to make sense to Frank. Evelyn must have gotten Joey drunk the night before to try and find something that she could use to her advantage. After everything that Joey had gone through with Mitch crashing the kid’s birthday party, Joey never would have seen it coming. Evelyn was a master manipulator and must have found out that Joey’s deepest desire was to return to photography, and now, she was using Joey’s dream against her. Well, more accurately, Evelyn was using Joey’s dream against him. She must have known that her gift would make him furious.

“Keep it, Joe.” Frank whispered. “You should have it.”

“No.” Joey cleared her throat and tried stand up straighter and own her decision. “It’s not worth it. She can’t buy me. I’m not for sale.”

“Keep it.” Frank repeated. “I want you to follow your dreams. I’m going to grab Mary and head home.”

“This is your home.” Joey corrected him in a small voice. “Isn’t it?”

“I don’t know.” Frank admitted with a heavy heart. “I don’t really know about anything anymore. I just need some time.”

“We haven’t even had a porch swing date yet…” Joey whined. She knew that Frank was pulling away from her and that she was losing him, but she wasn’t sure how to make it right. She had already agreed to give everything back to his mother and couldn’t understand why this was happening.

“Joe.” Frank soothed. He hated hurting her and was having a hard time looking at her.

“If I have to choose between a bunch of boxes and you, there’s no contest. You have to know that.” Joey pleaded. His wall hadn’t gone up yet, and she wasn’t going to give him up with a fight.

“I do..I do know that. That’s what makes this so hard.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

Frank cupped Joey’s face in the palm of his hand and wiped a tear away with his thumb. He hated this, but there was always a dark part of his heart that knew all of his family issues would come back to haunt him. He wished he was a better man, but he knew that he couldn’t live with Joey accepting his mother’s gift, but he also couldn’t bare to take it away from her.

“I want you to have everything that you’ve ever dreamed of...I can’t take this away from you.” Frank confessed. “You really deserve someone better. Someone that could live with this and just move on.”

“We’re more important.” Joey protested. “I can buy my own gear one day and still follow my dreams. I can’t find another you. Don’t start that ‘someone better for me,’ bullshit, there’s no one better for me.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” Frank countered and tried to blink away his own tears. “I just need some space, Joe.”

“Please, Frank. Just fifteen minutes ago we were so happy. Hold on to that, we can just forget that this delivery ever happened.”

The screen door to Joey’s house slowly opened and pushed some of the boxes out of the way and the sound of Sam’s loud barking cough interrupted them as he cried out for his mom.

“This isn’t over, Adler.” Joey stated as she tried to muster up as much confidence as she could. “I’ve waited years to feel this way about someone and I’m not giving you up for a tripod and lighting rig. Do you hear me. If you’re gunna leave me you’re gunna have to come up with a better reason. I’ll give you your space, but this conversation isn’t over, do you understand.”

Frank sniffed and nodded his head, but as he collected Mary and walked back to his house he couldn’t help but consider that Joey, as confident as she was, might be wrong. So many ‘maybes’ ran through his troubled mind as he tried to hide his pain and turmoil from his niece and dodge her many questions.

Maybe this would always be unfixable between them. Maybe he had underestimated his mother ability to truly lash out and hit him where it truly hurt. Evelyn must have known that he would react badly if she tried to insert herself in Joey’s life like this, but she did it anyway. Maybe him and Joey were truly over and that was his mother’s plan from the beginning.

God, he wished that he could just get over it and continue on as if nothing had happened. What was his problem. Losing Joey would surely break him in a way that he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to recover from.

But the worst maybe that ran through his mind was the possibility that maybe he had been unknowingly right when he told Bonnie that he couldn’t love people. If he truly loved Joey he would be able to find way to deal with his mother’s gift without pulling away from her and floating the idea of ending things ...wouldn’t he? Frank had a terrible feeling that he was doing this all to himself as a sick punishment for failing Joey and the kids the night before and not living up to the expectations that he had set for himself and the reality of his overreaction made him feel like he’d been punched in the gut. How could he ever become the man that he wanted to be if he kept doing shit like this?

A dark cloud seemed to fall upon him and, for the first time since his sister had taken her own life, Frank empathized with her decision and it scared the hell out of him.


	26. "Lighthouse"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey not only cares for two sick children, but manages to fix her relationship with Frank as well.

It only took Joey a few minutes with Sam to realize that he had gotten pretty sick over the course of the day. Once her mother left, Joey switched into 'mom mode' and tried not to let what had happened between her and Frank distract her. Right now Sam needed her and there was no way that Joey was going to let her son down, no matter how much her heart hurt or how worried she was that she might lose Frank.

The small cough that Sam had that morning in Evelyn's hotel room had worsened and now it had developed a deep barking quality that didn't sound normal at all. Not to mention that he had started running a low fever and his poor eyes started to look so red. But what worried Joey the most was the the raspinness of his voice, it was almost as if her little man was having a hard time breathing properly.

Before she freaked out and called an ambulance, Joey called her family doctor first. She had never been so grateful for Sheryl's generous health insurance plan as she waited for her doctor's call service to redirect her call to the physician that was on duty that weekend.

After a short conversation, the doctor suspected that Sam had croup. Mostly because she could clearly hear the child's cough through the phone and would have known the distinct barking sound anywhere.

Apparently there had been a few cases diagnosed throughout the neighbourhood lately and when Joey told the doctor that Sam had just been to a birthday party the previous day with many other children, her doctor chuckled and informed her that that had probably been where he had caught it.

She assured Joey that croup was a fairly normal childhood ailment and suggested that the two of them hang out in a steam filled bathroom and use an over the counter pain reliever as needed. But if Sam's breathing got worse, then he should be brought to the hospital as soon as possible.

Joey breathed out a sigh of relief and was confident that she could handle this. She immediately went to work and set up her bathroom and made the floor comfortable enough for the two of them to chill out together while the steam did its work.

Joey was amazed that the steam really did work like a charm. After about 45 minutes, Sam's cough had gotten a little bit more manageable, but the poor guy was exhausted. Coughing that hard had really taken a toll on the little guy and soon Sam abandoned his toys and crawled up in her arms and fell asleep on her shoulder after only two choruses of 'You are my Sunshine.'

Joey played with his hair as the shower raged on and finally let herself think of Frank and all that had happened earlier after Evelyn's surprise delivery.

Frank loved her, of this she was completely certain. He wouldn't really end things with her over this...would he?

Before her mother had left for her bridge club, Jessie had helped her bring in all of the boxes and Joey was happier to be sitting on her bathroom floor than in her living room surrounded by them. She hated those boxes with a burning passion. It killed her to think that Frank believed that those boxes were more valuable to her than having him in her life. Whether she got through to him or not, Joey would rather set them all on fire than use them.

The sadness that resided in Frank was a lot to take on sometimes, Joey mused to herself as she kissed Sam's head and listened to him breath more soundly. Referring to Frank as 'the quiet damaged hot guy,' had been a ongoing joke throughout town. But now that Joey was in love with him, she started to hate that nickname. It hit too close to home for her liking.

Frank's depression would rear its ugly head from time to time and Joey was always surprised by it and would never see it coming. After all, Joey thought the world of him and saw all of Frank's good qualities as clearly as she saw the nose on his face. But she had to remind herself that, as much as it baffled and pained her, believing in himself didn't come naturally to him and that he had a penchant for self loathing whenever he made a mistake. Not being there for her and the kids the other night, after the party, must have still been weighing heavy on his heart no matter how many times that Joey had told him that she forgave him. Forgiving himself would always be a completely different story.

But Frank's ongoing depression and poor self image were exactly the reasons why Joey wanted Frank to make amends with his mother. Not just a cease fire, but for them to truly forgive each other and bond as a mother and son should. Even though she suspected that every member of the Adler family had a history of depression and mental illness, Joey still believed that mending the relationship between Frank and his mother was the best first step in Frank truly healing.

Maybe she was being foolish and naive for believing that it was possible. But Joey could have sworn that Evelyn seemed to let her guard down the night before and revealed that she really did want Frank in her life but assumed that he would never be responsive to her. The two of them were so stubborn. But for as much as Joey wanted them to bond, she'd be damned if she was going to lose Frank and become a casualty in their ongoing feud.

Afterall, Joey hadn't asked for any of this to happen. It wasn't as though she had asked Evelyn to buy her all of that photography gear in the first place. It wasn't fair that Joey might lose the man that she loved over a decision that Evelyn had made; as thoughtful and generous a decision as it may have been.

The bottom line was that Frank's issues with his mother were his issues. Sure, Joey wanted to help him sort through them, but not at the cost of her relationship with him. Because the truth was, if it had to come down to her, Frank and Mary never seeing Evelyn's face again in order to keep their new family happily together, it wasn't a hard decision for Joey to make.

If a reconciliation between them wasn't possible, then Joey decided that she was going to try and bring up the idea of Frank talking to professional. Maybe some kind of counsellor might be able to help him sort through some of his heavy issues and possibly give him some peace. But Joey had no idea if Frank would be receptive to that idea...or if Frank ever planned on talking to her again, for that matter. But the more she thought about it, the more she considered that maybe she should see someone, as well. All of the drama with Mitch was still stressing her out and she knew that she had been avoiding her issues with her father for years.

 _Mommy issues and daddy issues,_ Joey smirked to herself. They both carried their strained relationships with their parents with them to this day. They really were perfect for each other.

But the idea of Frank punishing himself by pushing her away infuriated Joey as she sat on her bathroom floor. Frank and Mary were her family and they should be there with her and Sam right now. Joey hated having to deflect and distract Sam when he asked for them, especially when he was sick and innocently hoping that their presence would comfort him. Joey adjusted Sam's weight and smiled to herself as she remembered Sam informing earlier her that she didn't read stories as well as Mary could.

It was then that it dawned on Joey that Mary had been at the same party that Sam had been to, and, therefore, she might have been exposed to the same virus. She couldn't believe that she hadn't considered that fact sooner.

Joey tried not to panic as her worried mind played out all of the worst case scenarios in technicolor. Because, even with Frank's new steady employment at Mr. Anderson's resort, he and Mary didn't have health insurance yet. To add insult to injury, Joey knew that Frank's hot water tank still wasn't working properly, at least not long enough to create the kind of steam that Mary would need to treat her if she were as sick as Sam was.

Joey was starting to feel her anxiety rise as she sat in her steam filled bathroom. The frustrating possibility of Mary suffering without her there to help her threatened to break Joey in two.

Joey wasn't sure what to do; she had agreed to give Frank some space and was scared that Frank wouldn't even take her call if she phoned him to ask how Mary was.

Maybe Mary was okay, she told herself. Croup was a virus that affected younger kids, Joey bargained in her head. Mary was eight now. But a little voice in the back of her head reminded her that the Baby Center webpage said that kids of any age could possibly get croup.

 _Mary is probably fine,_ there was no reason to freak out. Joey tried to convince herself. But then the worried voice in the back of her head also added that Mary hadn't been around a lot of kids in the past... but that didn't mean that she would be more susceptible to catching childhood virus, right?....Right?

It didn't take long for those excuses she told herself to start feeling like lies. Joey was going insane not knowing if Mary was okay, so she took out her phone and texted Roberta.

Joey punched out a long text asking her old friend to check in with Frank and find out if everything was okay with Mary and explained why she was asking her to do it instead of her doing it herself.

 **Roberta:** Of course honey. One minute.

Over five minutes went by and Joey tried not to chew on her fingernails as she waited for Roberta to get back to her. She was so worried and worked up over the whole situation and had to remind herself to calm down. Caring so much about children and their welfare was still a new feeling for her. She wasn't lying when she had told Frank that it felt like her heart existed outside her chest now. It made her so raw and vulnerable.

Sam stirred in her lap and Joey lifted him up and placed his head on one of the pillows she had brought into the bathroom to sit on and brushed his hair off his forehead. The steam from the shower had done the trick and he was breathing so much better now. If Mary was in the same boat, she needed the same home remedy for sure.

Just then, Joey's phone rang and she quickly answered it only to have Roberta start yelling at her on the other end before she had even said hello.

"You get over to that house and you get that baby right now!" Roberta ordered at the top of her lungs. "I swear that man is so damn stubborn. I could hear Mary's barking cough right away. But he thinks that his little humidifier will do the trick, but that dinky thing is as old as Mary is!"

"Oh dear." Joey sighed. Poor Mary, Joey was really hoping that she was fine and that she was worrying for nothing. "It doesn't work at all." Joey confirmed with a dread filled heart.

"I don't know what's going on between you and Frank, but I'm sure that you'll sort it out yourselves. In the meantime, your mama instincts were right and Mary needs you, sweetheart. Their unit is the last one set for a new hot water tank. I'd drag her out of there myself and put her in my shower if I could. My little nieces and nephews have all had croup, steam is the best thing for her."

"I'm on it, Roberta, thank you. I'll take care of it."

"I trust that you will, Joey." Roberta praised, full of sincere emotion. "I know you're doing your best. I really miss you guys, I wish I could help more."

"We miss you too, Roberta." Joey tried not to cry. Hearing her voice made Joey realized just how much she missed Roberta and the steady influence she had on all of their lives. "I miss you so much. You've already helped, though. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

Joey put away her phone and took one last look at Sam sleeping soundly on her bathroom floor before she practically flew out of her house and ran across the street. She couldn't waste any time and had to get back to Sam as soon as possible.

"Where is she!" Joey demanded as she burst through the door of Frank's house, completely out of breath. She really did need to work on her cardio, she decided, since one sprint across the street had her winded and her was heart ready to break free from her chest.

Frank and Mary had been sitting on their couch together, but Frank stood up when she barged into their living room. He had Mary's head covered with a towel as the little girl leaned over a pot of hot water. Frank was really trying to do the best that he could for his niece, but Joey knew that she could do better.

"Where's the fire?" Frank complained as he tried to process what was happening. "Wait! Did Roberta call you?"

"Yes, she did." Joey admitted. "I got her to call you to find out if Mary was okay. Sam is in the same boat, back at the house. Come on, Mary. You're coming with me, baby. My bathroom is full of steam and it's just what your little lungs need."

"Is he okay? Wait! Wait wait wait." Frank stood in front of her and raised his hand as it dawned on him that Joey had to go behind his back. "You couldn't call me? I'm right here!"

"You wanted your space, so I was trying to respect-..." Joey stuttered until she got pissed off. "Don't you dare get mad at me, if Mary was sick, you should've picked up the phone and called me, too! To hell with this!" Joey stopped trying to explain herself and instead she boldly pulled Frank down to her by the collar of his shirt and pressed her lips against his.

Of course, Frank couldn't help but kiss Joey back after he got over his surprise and Mary started giggling at them until a small coughing fit took over her laughter.

"I love you, you big dummy. I told you that our conversation wasn't over." Joey reminded against his lips. "Don't tell me that you didn't feel that."

"I did. Of course, I did." Frank readily admitted as he tried not to give into temptation and kiss her again, but Joey smelled so good that he could feel his resolve slipping away in real time.

"Don't tell me that what we feel doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters. I'm not sure if anything has changed, Joey." Frank sadly answered her as he held her face in his hands. Their pull was so strong, Frank could still taste her on his lips and felt like such a liar trying to deny their connection. He felt as though he were throwing away a winning lottery ticket as he looked into her big blue eyes.

"Fine!" Joey spit out as she turned on her heel and picked Mary up and hugged the little girl back when she wrapped her arms around her neck and her legs around her waist. "Sam's been asking for you, by the way." She informed Frank from behind Mary's shoulder. "And I like seeing your stupid face, too. So when you're done being such a stubborn ass, your family will be waiting for you across the street!"

Frank was stunned by Joey strong reaction, but couldn't help but smirk as he watched her jog across the street with Mary hugging her around her neck. As sick as Mary was, she seemed pretty impressed with how Joey had stood up to him.

Frank was impressed too, for that matter. That woman really was something else, what the hell was he thinking trying to let her go. Frank looked around his empty house and couldn't imagine what his life would look like without her. But he was right, nothing had really changed.

Frank wanted Joey to follow her dreams and take up photography again and his mother had made that possible for her. But Frank just couldn't let go of his resentment towards Evelyn. He knew that he would grow to hate the positive role that his mother would have played in Joey's new career and that would only end up tearing them apart in the long run.

But he also knew that he was being unfair to Joey. Hell, he was being unfair to himself, as well. He shook his head and hated how self aware he was sometimes. He understood his shortcomings all too well and saw where problems would develop down the line because of his crap. He couldn't stand to be indebted to his mother in any way, a better man would be able to deal with it.

A rare optimistic voice in the back of his head reminded him that he had already changed so much since Joey came into his life. He actually liked who is was becoming and he knew that the only way he was going to keep that up, would be with Joey in his life.

Joey had changed his life and he loved her more than he had any right to. So much so, that Frank found himself locking up his house and walking across the street to be with her.

\------------------------

"Shhh, baby girl." Joey soothed as she sat on the bathroom floor with Mary in her arms. Sam had woken up and wanted his bed, so Joey had tucked him in and rushed back to the bathroom to tend to Mary as she rubbed her eyes and coughed uncontrollably.

"Are you and Frank fighting?" Mary asked through her coughs.

"We are...kinda." Joey confessed as she smoothed Mary's hair and kissed the top of her head. Joey couldn't bring herself to lie to the little girl. "But you don't have to worry, okay. We'll sort it out...eventually."

"I don't..." Mary went into another coughing fit and Joey sat up straighter and rubbed Mary's back until it stopped. "I don't want to lose you, too. I know I'm being a baby." Mary cried as fat tears rolled down her cheeks. "...but I didn't get to meet my mom, and my dad didn't even want to see me when he was in town. Frank loves you, I know he does. He's more fun when you're around. Please don't leave me, too."

"Oh, Mary berry." Joey cried as well. Seeing Mary cry made Joey follow suit. It was almost as if she had no say in the matter. "Shhh. Don't cry, sweetheart."

"I should have known that birthday wishes don't come true." Mary whined. "It's all just stupid kid stuff."

"That's not true." Joey protested as she tucked Mary's blonde hair behind her ear and tried to stop crying and set an example for her. "What did you and Sam wish for? You guys wished for the same thing, right?"

"Not that it matters now, but we wished that we could all be a family." Mary sighed in defeat and bitterly wiped away her tears. "You, me, Sam and Frank. It was dumb, but I wished that we could all live together like most families do."

Joey stopped breathing as she listened to Mary's confession. Mary still had no idea that she had already asked Frank to move in with her and Sam, but she couldn't say anything until Frank had an opportunity to discuss it with her. That's if Frank still wanted to move in with her at all now. Joey hated that things might have changed so drastically in such a short time.

"I really like my room here and now that Einstein is living with Roberta, Fred and Bob get along really great with Gus. Cats and dogs hardly ever get along." Mary explained. Obviously she had put a lot of thought into their living situations and it made Joey smile. "I thought that it was a wish that could actually happen...but now...it was a stupid thing to hope for. I shouldn't have gotten Sam's hopes up. He's gunna hate me now."

"Well, first off, It's impossible to hate you. So jot that down." Joey stated matter of factly with smile. "And, secondly, your wish is not dumb and, thirdly, I'm not going anywhere." Joey assured her as she tried speak through the hard lump in her throat. Mary's confession pulled at her heartstrings and Joey tried her best not to start crying again. Just when Joey thought that she couldn't possibly love that little girl more, Mary would open her heart to her and Joey would find her heart expanding and she'd end up loving Mary even more than before. "You see, I love you more than I could ever explain. There really needs to be a word bigger than love, because that word might come a little closer to explaining how I feel about you, Mary. It's such a new feeling for me and I'm still figuring it out."

"I love you, too, Joey." Mary smiled, but she still had so much fear in her eyes. Mary was scared that she was going to lose her and it broke Joey's heart.

"I know you do, baby girl." Joey wiped away her tears and tried her best to give Mary a sweet confident smile. "I love Frank, too, by the way. I still love him so so much."

"You do?"

"Yes. You Adlers are amazing. I never stood a chance." Joey teased. "Grown ups fight sometimes, but it doesn't mean that they don't love each other. But my feelings for you aren't about your uncle, okay. Just rest and breath in the steam. Let me and Frank take care of everything else. You have enough complicated math equations floating around in that genius mind of yours. You don't need to worry about all of this grown up stuff, too."

"Is it okay if I lay on you like this?" Mary asked with a yawn as she got more comfortable in Joey's lap.

"It's never stopped you before." Joey chuckled and laughed harder when Mary started to giggle as well.

Mary nestled into Joey's shoulder and soon the soothing sounds of the shower had the little girl falling fast asleep in the same way that Sam had done earlier.

Joey waited for a few moments before she tightened her grip around Mary and stood up with her in her arms. Mary's breathing had gotten much better, the steam from the shower had done the trick once again. Joey almost felt like an old pro at this point.

Joey managed to turn off the shower before she carried Mary into Mary's bedroom and laid her down in her bed and propped up her pillows so she'd be more comfortable. Joey knew that she should check on Sam, but she just had to take a second to watch Mary sleep. Joey brushed her blond hair away from her face and kissed her forehead. Mary looked so precious and small and she was so grateful that her little girl was finally comfortable and resting.

Joey was still so unsure of the future, so she indulged herself and watched Mary sleep for a few more moments and allowed herself to fantasize that the room she was sitting in would be Mary's official bedroom soon. Not seeing her cute little face everyday would be devastating.

Joey finally dragged her heavy tired heart out into the hallway and tip toed her way to Sam's room, only to be pleasantly surprised to find that Frank was in there with him. In fact, it was down right adorable how Frank took up the majority of Sam's little twin size bed as he laid with Sam and shared a pillow with him. Joey hadn't heard him come home but was so happy to see him and hoped that he had finally come to his senses.

Frank opened his eyes when he sensed that someone was watching him sleep and saw a tired, yet beautiful, Joey gazing at him from Sam's doorway. He expected her to be furious with him after the way that he had acted after his mother's delivery, but all he could see was love and acceptance shining back at him from her big blue eyes. In fact, her love for him seemed to fill the room as a sweet smile stretched crossed her face.

"Hey." Frank whispered as he tried to free his arm from under Sam's head but stopped when the little boy started to wake up.

"Hey." Joey whispered back as happy tears filled her eyes. God she loved that man, she mused to herself with pride as she watched him tenderly care for her son.

"Kidnap any kids recently?" Frank teased as he gave up trying to free his arm for a moment.

"Just one. A really cute blond girl." Joey teased back as she crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. "She's pretty cool. I think I'll keep her."

Frank smirked back at her and Joey puffed out a small laugh. It felt as though nothing had changed between them and Joey wanted to lean into that familiar feeling. Frank, if nothing else, was really her best friend and she hated the idea of him walking away from what they had together.

"How's she feeling?"

"Better. The steam really worked." Joey acknowledged. "I gotta remember that trick."

"You're a really good mom, Kincade." Frank praised with a proud smile. "It's kinda hot."

"Thanks. That's the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me," Joey whispered as she shyly looked down at her feet. "You're not the worst parent, either, Adler. In fact, you sorta make it all look kinda easy."

Joey was well aware of Frank's issues, but she wished that he would realize that he had people in his life that loved him dearly. Namely, her and the kids. Joey had to trust that their love for him would be a bright enough lighthouse to guide Frank through his darkness and bring him safely back home where he belonged. Joey still believed in her and Frank and she wasn't going to give up on her new family without a fight.

If Frank needed a lighthouse then a lighthouse was exactly what Joey would gladly be for him. Because she had to admit, that Frank was really her lighthouse, as well. Who knows if she would have gotten the itch to travel and spread her wings again, if Frank wasn't here to ground her and show her how amazing it was to truly love someone and share her life with them. The truth was, the two of them were simply better together than apart and their respective kids were better for it, as well.

"Do you still like seeing my stupid face?" Frank cautiously asked with a sad tired voice from Sam's bed. Joey had every right to be mad at him and tell him to take a hike, but all she did was lean against the doorframe and smile a sweet thoughtful smile at him. He really wished that he could read her mind and find out what she was thinking.

"Yes, I'm happy that you're home." Joey whispered and emphasized the word home in order to make her point.

"Me too." Frank answered after a long pause. "Is this still my home?"

"You belong here," Joey softly informed him. "You belong wherever me and the kids are. But I'm not going to beg you to stay with me. I'll fight for you, I'll fight for us. But I'm not going to beg, Frank. No matter how much I love you. I'm not built that way."

"I don't want you to beg, Joe." Frank whispered back with a pained expression. He had put her through so much. He hated that her mind had gone to that place, but he admired her dignity. "I'd never want you to do that."

"I do love you, why can't you see that. I just...Look, I don't need a guarantee, I just need to know that you to want to be here, the same way you needed to know if I was going to get antsy and jump on a plane."

Frank nodded and let Joey's words dance around his head as Sam started snoring beside him. He really couldn't get over how gorgeous Joey looked as she stood there. Sure, her long dark hair hair was limp and stringy as it rested on her shoulders and her pale complexion made the dark circles under her eyes more prominent, but Frank had never laid eyes on a woman more amazingly beautiful and resilient.

Joey had not only spent the better part of the day painstakingly caring for the two children that he loved the most in the world, alone and without complaint, but she also had to deal with him overreacting and pulling the rug out from under her on the heels of Mitch's surprise visit. He wasn't nearly as strong as she was and he was in awe of her toughness.

"I want to be here, Joe." Frank tried to whisper through the hard lump in his throat so he didn't wake up Sam. "Not just in this house...I want you, you're my home and but I want to be good enough for you, I just can't shake it."

"You already are good enough, dummy." Joey smiled as she tried to keep the laughter in her voice from waking up Sam. "I'm not lying to you when I tell you that I love you. Stop doubting me so much, it's not fair. I've never lied to you, not once. You gotta start trusting me."

"I never looked at it like that..." Frank considered from Sam's bed. "I've always trusted you." Frank watched Sam's safari night light dance across the wall and put himself in Joey's shoes for a moment. He'd been guilty of lying to women before and telling them what they wanted to hear, but he'd never done that with Joey. If she didn't believe him when he poured his heart out to her, it would probably piss him off. She was right...again. At this point, he'd find her track record pretty annoying if he didn't admire her so much.

He still needed to learn how to get out of his own way and let himself be happy, Frank reminded himself, yet again. Maybe letting himself be happy would always be a constant struggle, he considered while Joey winked at him and beckoned him to get up and join her.

Frank paid close attention to Sam's breathing as he inched away from him, hoping that he was feeling better. Nothing bothered Frank more than a sick kid; especially a sick kid that he loved so much. Frank wished that he could wave a magic wand and take all of Sam's pain away, but he also wanted to spend time with Joey and apologize for being such a monumental ass.

"No, daddy. No go." Sam stirred in his sleep and tried to hold on to Frank's arm in vain. Sleep overtook the little boy almost immediately and soon he was snoring again as Joey and Frank both stopped breathing.

You could have heard a pin drop as Frank froze and looked to Joey but she seemed just as shocked as he was. After a quick gut check, Frank kissed Sam's forehead and managed to wiggle his arm away from the boy without waking him further and slid out of the small single bed as if he were a spy in another life.

Joey padded into the room and tucked Sam in and checked his temperature. When she was satisfied that Sam was doing just as well as Mary, she followed Frank out into the hallway and softly shut Sam's door.

"Did you hear that?" Frank asked in a desperate whisper as he vigorously rubbed his face with his hands.

"I did. I'm sorry..." Joey apologized. "I never suggested to him that you were his dad. I didn't see that coming so quickly. Are you mad?"

"Of course not. I just didn't see it coming either."

"He did the same with me, if it makes you feel any better." Joey smiled. "The whole world seemed to stop when he called me mom."

"You said it was like he chose you to be his mother." Frank reminded her of the night on Jessie's porch when the two of them had bonded over her happy news.

Frank was filled with so much emotion and tried in vain to hide it all from Joey, but she saw right through him as she took his hand and tried to comfort him. All he could see, in his mind's eye, was how happy Joey looked when she had shared her happy news with him, and now he was experiencing that same level of happiness and it was a lot to take in. It did feel like Sam had chosen him, as well. Those voices that told him that he didn't deserve that little boy and that he was going to ruin his life were still there in the back of his head, but the longer he looked into Joey's loving eyes the further those voices became.

"It makes sense that he would chose you to be his father, Frank." Joey explained as if he could read his mind. "He loves you and he knows that you love him back. That's so much more than he ever got from Kevin. But if you want me to talk to him about it and remind him to call you Frank, I will. It's your call."

"No no. I'm just so messed up, Joe." Frank cried as he tried in vain to swallow down what he was feeling. "Look, I want to be here...you need to know that. But I put you through so much, though. I want to be his dad, I really do...but..."

"But nothing, do you hear me. But nothing." Joey firmly insisted while she tried to keep her voice down since they were both outside the kid's bedrooms. "It was you that showed me that you didn't need to be perfect in order to be a good parent. You show up for him and Mary every single day. Hell, you show up for me, too. Even tonight, after everything, you still showed up. And, for the record, I'm going to keep showing up for you, too, no matter what."

"Is that enough, though?"

"I don't know, but it's more that any of us has gotten from anyone else. Mary's parents both left her. So did Sam's. Kevin ran out on me in the middle of the night...Frank, you don't have to be perfect, I've told you that and I meant it. It's okay to pissed and confused about your mother giving me all of that gear, but it's not okay for you to run out on me."

"I hate that I run." Frank confessed as tears started to run down his face. "I always promise myself that I won't, and then...I hate that I always fucking run!"

"Shh." Joey reached up and held his face in her hands and swiped away his tears with her thumbs when he started to sob against her palms. "I get it...by now, I totally get it, baby. But please try running to me instead of away from me. It's okay, baby, don't cry."

"Stop forgiving me, for fucks sake." Frank cursed with his eyes shut tight. "I don't want to be that kind of man that has to keep being forgiven!"

"No, Frank. We're trying to build a family together. Build a home. We've never done that before. We're _both_ going to need to be forgiven when we mess up." Joey smiled but inside, her heart was breaking for him. "You are more than your mistakes. Don't you see that? Invite me into your darkness, I promise I won't think less of you. It was hard for me to invite you into my darkness, but you've been nothing but cool and understanding with me and I want to return the favor."

"You're too good...I want to protect you from that crap-"

"Don't you think that I want to protect you, too? Joey interrupted and refused to let go of his face as she looked him directly in the eye. "My father has done unspeakable things and I want to protect you from that world. Protect you from me in case any of that darkness was somehow hereditary and passed down to me. But, as much as I want to protect you from me, I still want you in my life and I can't stand to hold you at arm's length."

"There is none of Mitch in you. None." Frank insisted with serious eyes as he held on to her wrists. "You don't need to protect me from you, Joe. I'll walk through your darkness with you, always."

"Same goes for you, Adler." Joey countered with a smirk. "You're my dream. I promise. You think my dream is photography, but it's really you and Mary and Sam. I had no idea!" Joey laughed at how her life had turned out. "I had no idea that a family of my own would be the hill that I would die on, but it is. Everything else feels so small in comparison. All of that gear out there, doesn't mean shit if it means that I lose you and Mary. I can take pictures with my iphone for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy, if it's my family I'm taking pictures of."

"I want you to become a photographer again, Joe. I really really do." Frank implored her. "It's just having my mother save the day and become the hero... as if she's done nothing to me...as if she did nothing to my sister. Diane would be here now if it weren't for- .... I just can't swallow it, baby. But I can't help but think that better man would be able to."

"No." Joey sharply disagreed as she continued to wipe away his tears with her thumbs. "You shouldn't have to deal with this all in one day and I don't expect you to. Do I want all of that gear sitting out there in the living room? Yes, of course I do. But I can happily live without-"

Frank huffed and rolled his eyes as if he didn't believe her and Joey held his face tighter and made him look at her.

Frank looked down into Joey's love filled eyes and saw the rest of his life shining back at him. He saw the two of them growing old facing all of life's challenges together. It couldn't have been a more perfect and pure moment. It was so clear, Frank knew that he would remember that moment in that hallway for the rest of his life. He wondered if there were a limit to the the amount of times a man could fall in love with a single woman, or if love were a cycle that got stronger and stronger the longer you loved one person. Either way, life didn't make any sense without Joey and he knew that he would never leave her again.

"I can live without it, Frank." Joey attested through her teeth. "Give me some credit. I've never loved like this before. Maybe there was a day when I would have tossed a guy out on his ass for the opportunity to start my own studio again, but I hadn't met you then. It kills me that you don't believe that you're worth it... but god damn it, Frank-"

Frank dove for her lips before she could finish her sentence, and Joey didn't disappoint for a second. She kissed him back with such force that their teeth clashed and they almost fell over.

"You're the love of my life." Joey desperately confessed against his lips as Frank's strong arms held her up. "It's actually a real thing." She smiled and Frank nodded his head in agreement with a charming smirk.

"It is a real thing." Frank agreed chuckled. "I had no idea, either."

"You're my love songs moment, Frank." Joey hummed as she kissed his lips and reminded him on one of their first conversations when she confessed that she'd always been waiting for an epic falling in love moment that love songs were traditionally written about.

"You're everything, Joey." Frank answered her as he kissed her back with tears still streaming down his face.

Frank still didn't know what he was going to do about everything that had just transpired. But his mother and her gift were the furthest thing from his mind as he and Joey continued their passionate kiss all the way to their bedroom and the two of them began to frantically peeled each other's clothes off. He was connected to Joey in a way that seemed to be indestructible. Even his darkness couldn't shake the powerful connection that they had.

Frank realized that as he continued to be himself with Joey and kept showing her the real him, she, in turn, would never fail to accept him and love him in a way that felt like magic. His original gamble had paid off in ways that he never could have imagined or had any right to hope for.

Joey was right. They were building a home and a family. Frank only hoped that that family would be strong enough to withstand his failings because as forgiving as Joey was, Frank still had no idea how to truly forgive himself. But all of that old pain seemed to slowly fade as Joey loved him and lead him towards the light.

\----------------------------

The next morning was so normal and predictable and Frank couldn't believe how comforting it felt. Joey had kissed him softly before she tried to wiggle out of his arms so that her and Mary could do their early morning yoga together before breakfast, but Frank held on to her tighter without opening his eyes until he got a giggle and a second and third kiss from her.

As much as Frank hated that she was a morning person, he loved that Joey would usually try and let him sleep in whenever she could. And since Frank and Joey had already taken the day off work because respective kids were sick, that morning was a perfect opportunity for her to spoil him.

Frank went back to sleep and the next time that he opened his eyes, maybe hours later, he could hear 'The Black Keys' softly playing out in the living room and could smell fresh coffee and bacon in the air.

 _It's good to be home,_ Frank sighed to himself as he stretched out in bed. But Frank's contentment turned to confusion when he found that Sam had taken Joey's spot next to him in bed and he could barely move. Funnily enough, Sam wasn't his only surprise visitor that morning. Sam had also had brought his entire stuffed animal collection with him and set them up around him while he had slept in.

Frank slowly woke up and gauged the situation he was in, finding that there was barely enough room for him and Sam in the bed thanks to all of Sam's toys. His newfound sleeping conditions were pretty hilarious and Frank was thankful that, after the night that Joey and him had, he had opted for wearing his pajama pants. Living with a woman was a new experience for Frank, but living with another child was an adjustment as well.

Sam was adorable as he slept on Joey's pillow, so much so, that Frank couldn't resist throwing Joey's big fluffy duvet over him and pulling the little guy against him with a playful growl.

"Morning, buddy!" Frank yawned as Sam giggled and twisted around under his arm and cuddled him back. He was still coughing a little bit, but, for the most part, he appeared to be doing much better.

Frank treasured these moments and wondered what life would have even been like without Sam. He was such a sweet kid and his good nature always brought the best in him. Sam took after his mom that way. Frank held the little boy in bed and felt a peace that he still wasn't sure if he deserved.

He listened to Sam tell him a story about his stuffed animals having a picnic on the beach and Frank played along as he rubbed his eyes and tried to wake up. He paid close attention as Sam babbled on, but Sam continued to call him Frank instead of daddy.

There was a part of Frank that was relieved because he wasn't sure how to broach the subject with Mary. But he had to admit, there was a bigger part of him that was disappointed that 'daddy' hadn't become his permanent title. The longer that Frank spent with Sam, the more Sam started to feel like his son. Frank marveled that there wasn't a wall high enough that Sam couldn't burst through.

But, all in all, in Sam's defense, the kid had just turned four and had called him Daddy in his sleep while he'd been sick with croup. So Frank tried not to be too upset with the little guy as they layed in bed together and made plans to go fishing again. Besides, Frank was still wrestling with how to deal with his mother's outlandish gift, but after his night with Joey, Frank had, at the very least, determined that leaving her was not an option and had confessed that to her throughout their throws of passion over and over again the night before as it were his new mantra.

For as much fun as it was to hang out with Sam, Frank knew that he should stop being lazy try and pry himself out of bed. Especially when Sam looked up at him with questions in his eyes when they heard two female voices having a conversation outside on his porch. At first, Frank didn't think anything of it until the voices got a little bit more animated and emotional, and then Frank could have sworn that one of those angry voices belonged to his british mother.

"Duty calls, little man." Frank teased Sam as he jumped out of bed and threw some clothes on. "Stay here and play, okay, Sam I Am. Gus, stay." Frank ordered to the golden retriever that was never far away from Sam.

Frank had always done his best to provide for Mary, but he had to admit, the last time that his mother had dropped by his place he had been a little embarrassed by his house. Frank had grown up surrounded by money and privilege and he could read his mother's disapproving mind as she stood in his modest living room and gave Mary her new laptop.

But this was different. He was proud of the home that he had created with Joey so he tried to silence the little boy inside him that always seeked his mother's approval because the grown mad that he was today knew that that would never happen.

 _"I understand, Evelyn...at least I'm really trying to understand."_ Frank heard Joey trying to explain through the screen door as he walked into the living room. _"But this isn't my fight. I'm flattered, but you shouldn't have sprung all of this on me. Even if your motives are pure, my family has to come first. You had to know that Frank would have some opinions about this."_

Mary was sitting on the couch with her laptop and looked up with a scowl and an annoyed look her face. Frank dropped his shoulders with a sigh and the two of them shared a knowing look. They'd been through times like this before and neither of them really wanted to get involved with the drama that was unfolding out on the porch.

"How are you feeling, kiddo?" Frank whispered as he checked his niece's temperature with his hand.

"Better. Steam helped." Mary shrugged with a small smile. "Are you gunna help her out?" She asked, referring to Joey out there with her grandmother.

 _"You're making a mistake, Josephine!"_ They both jumped when they heard Evelyn snap. _"Don't be foolish. You have to understand. I've been in your shoes."_

"Yeah, I'd better, huh?" Frank sighed as he continued to eavesdrop on their conversation.

 _"I get it."_ Joey nearly shouted as she stood her ground. _"It's not like I don't want all of that stuff. You really went overboard, by the way, I used to get by with half of that gear. But, with all due respect, you're the one being short sighted if you thought that all of this was going to be well received after everything that has happened."_

 _"I didn't give it to Frank, I gave it to you._ " Evelyn insisted through her teeth.

 _"Evelyn."_ Joey sighed.

"Y _ou told me that my son wanted you to go back to photography."_ Evelyn reminded Joey of her drunk oversharing. _"You implied that he was supportive of your ambitions. That isn't a trait that most men have and I was...I found myself..."_

 _"You were proud of him."_ Joey finished Evelyn's sentence for her and Frank stood behind the screen door completely stunned as he watched his mother nod to Joey and agree with her. Frank was beginning to think that Joey was some kind of magical beginning. How had she managed to get his mother to admit such a thing?

"Mother." Frank greeted her in a shaky voice as he opened the screen door.

"Good morning, Frank." Evelyn tightly smiled. "Getting a late start are we?"

"Sorry, Sam and I were having a little party with every single toy he owns." Frank shyly smirked as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "We weren't expecting you."

"Yeah, here." Joey giggled as she pulled out her phone and showed Frank and Evelyn the picture that she'd taken of a sleeping Frank surrounded by Sam's stuffed animals, hoping that it would cut the tension. "I didn't have the heart to stop him. He insisted that he needed to share all of them with you."

"He's such a sweet boy." Evelyn praised.

Frank wasn't sure how much of this small talk he could stand. His mother was standing right in front of the porch swing that he had made for Joey while confessing that she was proud of him and cooing over how cute Sam was. All of it was too surreal for him to process.

"Why are you here?" Frank directly asked his mother. "Were you wanting to see if Joey had been properly bought and paid for?"

"I told you yesterday that I was trying and that hasn't changed." Evelyn stated without emotion as she stood up straighter and squared her shoulders after Frank's insult. "But you never make it easy, do you?"

"I learned from the best." Frank quipped back at her.

"I raised you to be strong so that the world couldn't hurt you, but now it's backfired on me, hasn't it." Evelyn wondered aloud with a bitterness in her voice. "Now nothing can break down your walls. If I told you that there was a part of me that believed Walter's idea wasn't so frivolous, would you even believe me?"

"No. No I wouldn't." Frank answered her in a soft voice. It was the truth and he didn't want to lie to her. But just the idea of his mother actually wanting to reach out to him had his attention. That little boy inside of him that loved her would never shut up and always held out hope.

"Well here we are then." Evelyn sighed. " I first asked for your to help because it was the right thing to do, and you refused. Then you refused when I was willing to compensate you for your time. You refused, yet again, when I offered to include Joey and Sam. And now, you stand there and admit that even if I were to reach out to you on a personal level you'd be too stubborn to accept it. Your vindictiveness knows no end, does it. Well, I'm done playing these games with you. Don't ever blame the poor standing our relationship is in on me again. You've forced my hand, Frank. You'll help me now because I am forcing you to."

"Evelyn, this isn't the way." Joey beseeched her. Joey was well aware that, after their night drinking wine together, that Evelyn in her heart wanted a better relationship with her son. But trying to strong arm Frank wasn't going to get Evelyn any closer to her goal. Frank's will was so strong, Joey knew that this tactic would backfire on her.

"What do you mean, Evelyn." Frank stood up straighter and his posture instinctually became more protective over Joey even though Evelyn was no physical threat to her.

"You did this. You!" Evelyn snarled as she pointed her finger in Frank's face. "If I can't secure the funds I need to prove Diane's theory. Then I'll have no choice then, won't I?"

"Evelyn, please. You can't do this!" Joey pleaded when she caught on to what Evelyn was implying. "You're making a mistake, you're never going to get what you want like this."

"Nonsense, Josephine." Evelyn snapped at her. "This is what I want. You heard him. He wouldn't have believed me anyway. What would you have me do? Wallow in regret and beg him to take me seriously? Frank will only continue to kick me while I was down. At the very least, now, I can finish what I started and focus on my daughter's legacy."

"What the hell are you two talking about!?" Frank shouted. He naturally hated that the two of them were somewhat friendly with each other, but couldn't stand to have them keep him out of the loop.

"I would think it would be obvious to you." Evelyn explained to him in a cold condescending tone. "You said it yourself, Frank. Proving Diane's theory would have left me with little time for Mary. Well, thanks to your indifference, I now have a lot more time on my hands, don't I. Time that I can devote to a granddaughter that is obviously is still in need of my direction and guidance."

"You wouldn't." Frank sneared when it finally dawned on him that this mother was threatening to fight him for custody of Mary again.

Joey took his hand but he was too furious with his mother to accept her comfort. Instead, Joey settled for squeezing his tense forearm to hopefully remind him to keep his cool. By now there were probably a dozen different neighbours eavesdropping on them.

"You simply leave me no choice." Evelyn lectured. "You have a new son now, therefore - "

"How, fucking, dare you!" Joey sharply scolded her and watched Evelyn flinch under her ire. "Frank is more than capable of loving two children at once, you're capable as well if you'd just try. Is this about the camera gear?" Joey asked with a shaky voice. "I'm not giving it back out of spite, you have to know that."

"This is not about the camera gear, my dear. It's about doing the right thing."

"Don't talk to me about doing the right thing, you wouldn't know that right thing if it..." Frank ran his hand down his face and tried to figure out what to do, but Joey was so emotional that she ended up jumping in before he could figure out what to say.

"Sam and Mary love each other. You saw it for yourself." Joey implored her with her voice equal parts of anger and fear. "How is separating them the right thing to do? How is taking her away from us furthering your daughter's legacy!" Joey sobbed and choked on her words. "She already lost her parents once. I love her! I won't let you...you can't!"

"I take no pleasure in this." Evelyn softly answered as Frank wrapped his arms around Joey and pressed her face against his chest when she burst out crying. "This wasn't my first choice, you know that, dear. It doesn't have to be this way and you both know it."

Both Joey and Frank could see through Evelyn and knew that she was having a hard time stomaching what she was doing. All she wanted was for them to play nice for Walter and pretend to come together as a family and fulfill the rich old man's demand. Then, life could go on as usual for everyone.

"Fine. You win, mommy dearest." Frank sighed with bitter laughter in his voice. "Montana it is then."

 

 


	27. "Loose Ends"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey prepare for their trip to Montana.

After Evelyn left, Joey tried to pull herself together before she went back into the house. She really didn’t want to freak out the kids with her tears, but when Frank noticed that, despite her best efforts, Joey just couldn’t stop shaking he ushered her to the porch swing and sat down beside her and held her hand until she calmed down.

“She can’t take her, Frank. She just can’t.” Joey whispered through her sobs but managed to fake a smile and nod to Mrs. Barber when their neighbour peeked her head out from her house to make sure she was okay now that the coast was clear.

Joey loved her nosey eavesdropping neighbours, they really did try and look out for her in their own way. She noticed that Frank was even starting to warm up to them as he gave the nice worried lady a charming smile and ‘it’s okay now’ kind of wave.

“I can’t believe that Evelyn went there.” Joey continued to whisper to him with an edge in her voice. “Threatening another custody case? It’s such a savage move. I’ve never been more wrong about a person in my whole life. I can’t believe that I actually liked her and I was dumb enough to believe that she was sincere when she told me that she regretted the way that she had acted before. I mean how stupid can one person be.”

“You’re not stupid. You gave her a chance, I love that about you.” Frank admired as he leaned over and placed a kiss on her temple.

“She’s a real piece of work.” Joey whimpered with her bottom lip quivering. “How could she look me in the eye and tell me that I love Mary as any mother would, and then threaten to take her away from me less than 24 hours later. _Vicious. Fucking vicious._ ”

“She won’t take her, Joe. I’m not even totally convinced that she actually really wants her.” Frank tired to convince himself as well as convince Joey. “She's just not used to people saying no to her, and that includes her husband all a sudden growing a backbone and threatening to freeze her assets if she doesn’t do what he says. We kept saying no and her back was against the wall and she’s not used to being in that position. My mother has always been the one running the show. Walter taking control has got to be messing with her after over 25 years of her pushing him around. I think we can make this all go away by giving her what she wants. We’ll visit Walter in Montana and fake smile for a couple of days, how bad can that be?”

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Always.” Frank flirted with a shy lopsided smile. He loved how cute Joey looked as she gazed up at him with her big blue eyes full of warmth and kindness. How could one person alway be so perfectly precious, even when they were going through their own personal hell.

“I wanted you to go to Montana. I really did. But not like this.” Joey confessed as wipe away her tears. “I wanted you and Evelyn to try and work things out and get to know each other again. I thought it would help you. Now I just want to protect you from her. I realize now that I was being so naive. All of that was just a stupid fairy tale. I had no idea what I was dealing with and it all blew up in my face.”

“Evelyn has a way of destroying any hope of a happy ending.” Frank groaned as they both shared a sympathetic knowing smile with each other. “I’ll talk to Mr. Anderson and see if I can take some time off work...I’m not used to having a boss, hopefully I won’t lose my job. Truth be told, I actually kinda like working at the resort. I fit in with all of the other grumpy old men.” Frank teased.

“Hopefully I won't lose mine, too.” Joey added as she playfully smacked him. “We have Robert and Patricia's wedding coming up. This couldn’t have happened at a worst time.”

“Sheryl will understand, she loves you and Sam. If you tell her what’s going on, I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Frank tried to comfort her, but he knew that they were both in an impossible situation. “Maybe Evelyn would be satisfied if just Mary and I made the trip? I mean, someone has to keep paying the bills and Sheryl has been so great to us, I hate leaving her shorthanded.”

“No, we’re a family and we’re in this together. I hate screwing over Sheryl, too, but there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that I’m sending you and Mary to that woman by yourselves.” Joey sniffed and aggressively wiped away her fresh tears. “I’m so done with crying, Frank. I just want to get this over with. No more tears.”

Frank nodded as he reached down and brought Joey’s legs up and laid them across his lap and smiled when Joey melted into his side and rested her head on his chest. It felt nice to wrap his arms around her as they gazed out onto their sunny street. It took a minute or two for Frank to realize that they were finally having their first porch swing date. It was a nice moment but Frank wished that it could have happened under better circumstances.

“I really love my old lady swing.” Joey hummed against him after a peaceful silence. “And the grumpy old man that comes with it.”

All Frank could do was puff out a laugh as Joey started to giggle against his chest. They truly were in this together and it was a comforting feeling. He kissed the top of her head and tried to memorize the sound of her laughter. He wasn’t sure how much more of it he’d be hearing it in Montana surrounded by Evelyn and her petty threats. He loved Joey so much and hated that his mother had found a way to hurt her.

Frank started to blame himself for bring pain into her life, old habits do die hard. But almost magically, he seemed to stop himself as Joey cuddled him close to her and he breathed in the sweet smell of her shampoo. With some effort, he had managed to successfully ground himself. Maybe there was hope for him, after all.

Joey wasn’t the only one that Evelyn had hurt during her surprise visit that afternoon. The jab Evelyn made about Sam replacing Mary hurt and had stung Frank deeply. But Joey was right, he could definitely love two children at once. But trust Evelyn to make loving a child sound like a terrible thing and imply that he wouldn’t miss Mary because he had a son now.

He loved that Joey had jumped in and told her off. He could always trust Joey to keep his head on straight and point him towards the truth. In the past, Evelyn would have been able to get under his skin and make him doubt what was obvious and right in front of him.

Frank gazed out on the street and was lost in his thoughts. He reminded himself that when Evelyn wanted something she would never let silly notions of fairness and morality stop her. Nothing could get in his mother’s way and it was a quality that Frank, much to his dismay, saw in Mary everyday. The only difference was that he and Joey were raising Mary to have a heart and practice compassion and empathy in addition to encouraging her tenacity and iron will.

It was a balancing act, but Frank had faith that if Joey and him continued to set a good example for her, Mary would never stoop to the depths that her grandmother would in order to satisfy her ambitions. But who knows what kind of negative impulses Evelyn would foster and encourage in her grandchild if she were responsible for raising her. There was so much at stake in all of this and Frank hated how Evelyn could dangle Mary’s upbring in front of them as if her future meant nothing.

During their first cuddle session on their porch swing, Sam padded outside and joined them, climbing up into Joey’s lap. After a few laughter filled minutes with their little man, they started to feel recharged and more like themselves so they all went back inside to explain what had happened to Mary. There was no use in lying to her since Frank was fairly sure his niece had overheard the majority of what happened with her grandmother through the screen door anyway. Besides, Frank had learned his lesson from the custody case and strived to be honest with her and not make promises that he couldn’t keep.

After a quick explanation of Evelyn’s demands, Frank tried to assured Mary that they would be able to easily give her grandmother what she wanted, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but emphasized how high the stakes were so his niece would be prepared.

Joey paid close attention to the heavy knowing look that passed between Frank and Mary. The two of them had gone through so much together just months before Joey had come into their lives.

Standing there, Joey got to witness how their trauma had made the two of them stronger. They’d fought this battle before and, even though Joey wished that they had never had to go through the first custody case at all, she couldn’t help but admire how their battle wounds had bonded them. She found herself honoured that they had invited her into their tough little family and she didn’t want to let them down.  
  
“Walter isn’t a bad guy from what I remember of him.” Frank explained to his worried niece. “But he’s old, and he wants to be a grandfather. All we have to do is hang out with him and try not to step in horse shit.”

“And Montana is super gorgeous. Mountains, and nature; it’s beautiful. Me and Sam are going with you, too, and you never know, you might even have some fun.” Joey added but puffed out a laugh when Mary narrowed her eyes and gave her a look that screamed _‘ya right, lady.’_

“Just be yourself and everything will be fine.” Frank smiled at his girls. “I think he just wants to meet you and is trying to get Evelyn to make the introductions instead of calling us up himself.”

“He wants to know his family, sweetheart.” Joey assured her. “Frank’s right, you have nothing to worry about. He’s your step grandfather, we’re just going to visit and do what normal families do.”

“And what’s that?” Mary asked with a thick layer of sarcasm in her voice. “What is it that _normal_ families do?”

“I got nothing. I really have no idea.” Frank smirked at her without missing a beat. His honesty cracked everyone up and really lightened the mood. “We’ll figure it out when we get there.”

“You excited to travel again?” Frank asked Joey as stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and watched Mary bounce back into her room from over her shoulder.

“A little, to be honest.” Joey admitted. “But I’ve never traveled with kids before. Sam was an angel and slept the whole way here from Austin. Is it as horrible as everyone makes it out to be?” 

Joey rolled her eyes when Frank burst out laughed against her neck.

“You’re in for a treat, Joe.”

“Thanks, smartass.”

\-------------------

There were a lot of loose ends that they had to tie up in a short time, so Joey called her mom and asked her to watch the kids for them while they tried to get everything sorted out. They still had no idea when their presence would be required in Montana, but they figured that they should let their bosses know what was going on sooner, rather than later.

Joey drove down to her work and Sheryl teased her for coming in on her day off. Her boss was in the middle of asking her if Sam and Mary were feeling better, but froze in her tracks when Joey interrupted her and asked if they could talk privately with a much too serious look on her face.

Ten minutes later, Sheryl was pacing and cursing up a storm and in Italian and threatening to march over to Evelyn's hotel room to give her a piece of her mind.

“I love working here, Sheryl.” Joey whispered as she pressed her lips together and tried her hardest not to cry. She wasn’t lying that morning with Frank, Joey was positively sick of crying. “But I have to do this for Frank and Mary. I understand if you have to let me go, there’d be no hard feelings. I know I’m leaving at the worst time.”

“Do you honestly think that I would do that, Joey?” Sheryl huffed. “You’re the first florist that I’ve hired in decades, much to my children’s dismay. Truth be told, I can get by without you. In the beginning, I honestly hired you to help your mother out and to keep me company. It’s just a bonus that you’re almost as talented with flowers as I am.” Sheryl teased with a wink.

“Do I still have a job?”

“Of course you do, you silly girl! Take a week. Or, if that dreadful woman even looks cross eyed at that little girl, take two weeks. You are a mother now, sweetheart. I know I tease you about it, but it really has been a delight to see the four of you come together as a family. What kind of woman would I be if punished you for trying to keep that beautiful family of yours together. I don't think you realize how happy I am to have you around. I was about to have a heart attack when you asked if we could talk with your big blue eyes looking at me so sad, I thought that you were quitting and flying off to Paris!”

“Paris is lovely, but it’s Pinellas County that has my heart.” Joey smiled. “I really love you Sheryl. You’re the best boss that I’ve ever had. I really mean that, I’m not just saying that because your son goes completely nuts and spoils me and my kids with air conditioners and huge swing sets.”

“He’s a good boy, isn’t he?” Sheryl burst out laughing as she hugged Joey close. “That cousin of yours has brought out the best in him. You Kincade women tend to do a lot of that, don’t you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that man of yours ever look as though he didn’t have the whole weight of the world resting on his shoulders. But you changed all of that for him and saw the good in him. My son has always been such a bright and sweet boy, I truly love that Alice could see the good in him, too.”

Joey was about to congratulate her on becoming a grandmother, but she wasn’t sure if Alice and Barry had broken the news to her yet. But she was confident that Alice’s baby was going to be spoiled rotten between her mother and Sheryl.

“There’s a lot of good in all of the Nelson’s.” Joey winked. “Barry definitely takes after you, Sheryl.”

Florida had really become her home, Joey mused. All of their lives were so intertwined and Joey really felt that she was a part of a bigger family than she ever could have imagined. She still couldn’t believe that her cousin was going to have a baby, but Joey was happy that she was here in Florida to see her spunky and lively Alice become a mother.

“Hurry home, sweetheart.” Sheryl beamed. “After everything that you and your mother have been through, you both deserve some peace of mind. Let’s hope that mother in law of yours gets kicked by a damn horse!”

\------------

Frank met Joey back at the house after he spoke with Mr. Anderson at the resort. The two of them didn’t have quite the heart to heart that Joey and Sheryl had, but Frank still had a job waiting for him when he got back. In fact, Mr Anderson seemed to imply that he would actually miss him while he was gone.

Mr. Anderson was a good man and Frank was surprised that he was really starting to consider his boss a true friend. Never in a million years did Frank think that that would ever happen, even after his boss went out of his way to help him build the porch swing that meant so much to Joey, Frank still kept him at arm's length. The last boss that Frank had been the Dean of Boston University and he'd hated that asshole with a burning passion. But Mr. Anderson was different and if Frank had to work for anyone, he was glad it was him.

“Well, those bullets have been successfully dodged.” Joey sighed as she curled up next to him on the couch and cherished the safe feeling that Frank’s strong body always gave her when he held her. “Now we’ve gotta wait for your mother to send us the plane tickets and hope that my mom and Sheryl don’t gang up and slash her tires before she checks out of her hotel.”

“How did your mom take the news?” Frank asked.

“I talked to her a little bit before she left. She’s pissed, of course. But she brought up a pretty good point.”

“Oh yeah. What’s that?”

“We should look into adopting the kids and making everything permanent and legal. I’m sure it’ll cost some money, but the peace of mind it’ll give us would be worth it, don’t you think.”

Frank took in a deep breath from his nose as he considered Jessie’s suggestion. It was a good idea, especially now that his mother was back in his life and up to her old tricks.

“I know it’ll be expensive, and I don’t really know where to start.” Joey added. “But I wanna make sure that Evelyn can only play this card once.”

“You’re right. Or else she’ll keep using Mary to get us to do whatever she wants.” Frank nodded. “I’ll call my lawyer when we get back and get the paperwork started.”

\-----------------

Before they left for Montana, Joey really wanted to check on the little chihuahua puppy that her father had tried to kill and get an update on how he was doing in person. She was sure that if she didn’t stop by the animal hospital that he’d be on her mind the whole time that they were gone.

Even though the puppy was doing a lot better than expected, he wasn’t ready to be discharged just yet. But Joey had already arranged for her mother to care for the little dog incase he was released from their care before her and Frank got back from their trip.

Joey anticipated having to add, _‘not being there for the puppy when he got out of the animal hospital’_ to the list of reasons why she now hated Evelyn Adler with a burning passion.

That list was growing ever since Joey got off the phone with Principal Davies. Surprisingly, the woman had called the house before they left for the animal hospital to inform them that she had found a way to enroll Mary in a limited basis. Joey was eliated, but she had to inform Principal Davies that Mary might have to miss her first week of extracurricular activities at Howard School because of their trip to Montana. The news didn’t go over very well and Joey was annoyed with that woman when she questioned whether or not they were actually serious about enrolling Mary in her school again.

Oddly enough, it was Frank that talked Joey off the ledge and smoothed things over with the principal before Joey ripped her head off and told her where she could shove her sanctimonious attitude. Usually their roles were reversed, so Joey was very thankful that he was the one with a cooler attitude this time.

Frank was still cool and level headed when opened the door to the animal hospital for Joey and the kids but he couldn’t help but smirk when Joey huffed and scowled as she aggressively stuffed her phone into the back pocket of her jeans after she read, what had to be, an offensive text message.

“Our tickets will be waiting at the airport in the morning and she doesn’t want us to be late. So no sleeping in, Frank.” Joey informed him in a terribly snarky British accent that made Frank laugh and clutch his chest at her uncharacteristically grumpy tone.

“That quick, huh.” Frank smiled as he placed a kiss on her temple to cheer her up after she gave the receptionist her name.

“Yup. You’re mother is so efficient that it’s kinda scary at this point.” Joey added with an annoyed eye roll as they waited for the vet to meet with them. “It’s almost winter. I don’t even think that the kids have proper jackets. It makes no difference here, but I’ll be coldish in Montana, won’t it?”

“Mary has a winter coat somewhere and I think that Sam’s hoodie still fits him. If not, we can pick something up there.” Frank suggested with a pained expression. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for putting his family through all of this stress. “Hey guys don’t run off.”

For Sam, being surrounded by the many dogs and cats in the waiting room of the animal hospital was a little too much for the little animal lover to handle. Frank chased after him and had to remind Sam of his manners and explain to him that most of pets were in no mood to play because they were either hurt or sick.

Joey beamed with pride watching Frank on one knee patiently comforting the little guy when Sam immediately burst out crying at the idea of any animal being in pain. Both of her men were adorable in their own way. Frank was such a natural father, she loved that he never hesitated to comfort or love Sam when he needed the extra attention.

“That’s why they’re here, sweetheart.” Joey soothed as she ran her fingers through Sam’s hair while he rested his cheek Frank’s shoulder and held on to him tight. “The vets here are going to fix them right up.”

Frank took Sam to visit a labradoodle whose elderly owner beckoned him over to play with his dog when the old man overheard them and noticed Sam crying. Apparently, his dog was just there for a follow up visit and was up for a some playful attention from the four year old.

“So what happened the dog that we’re here to see, anyway?” Mary innocently asked Joey as they waited.

“Well, there’s no easy way to say this, baby girl, but my father hurt him pretty badly.” Joey answered her in a hushed tone so Sam couldn’t overheard any of the ugly details.

“On purpose?”

“Yeah. His name is Mitch, and he’s a very bad man. He was the reason why I asked your grandmother to take you and Sam to her hotel. When he showed up, I knew that something bad was going to happen, I just didn’t think that it would be this bad.” Joey confessed.

“He really hurt a puppy? _What an asshole._ ” Mary bitterly cursed almost to herself. “He’s really your father? That just doesn't seem possible at all.” Mary’s eyes went wide at the idea of Joey being related to a person like that, but Joey cut her off before Mary unleashed a waterfall of new questions.

“He’s never been in my life. Jessie tried to keep him away from me when I was kid, and I’m going to keep him away from you and Sam, too. There is no way that I would let him hurt you, Mary. You don’t have to scared, okay. My relationship with Mitch is a very long story that I really don’t feel like telling right now.” Joey quickly explained.

Maybe she could have deflected Mary a little better, but Joey didn’t regret telling her the truth. Joey accepted the fact that if she was going to be in Mary’s life for the long haul, that she would have to share her family history with her. But not in the middle of a vet clinic when she didn’t have enough time to get into it and when she was already emotionally exhausted.

Mary could sense that she was getting blown off, and the little girl mirrored the scowl that Joey had worn when they first walked into the clinic and it made Joey smile. Mary hated being treated like a kid and Joey empathized with her wholeheartedly.

“I will tell you one day. I’ll try a figure out an age appropriate way of telling you everything about him and all of the terrible things that he’s done... just not today.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. You have enough on your plate right now.” Joey sighed as the receptionist called them all over to the back room where they could privately see the puppy. “We all do for that matter.”

\----------------------

Frank couldn’t get over how good natured the small chihuahua puppy was after everything that he had been through. But he had to admit that the little guy almost didn’t look like a dog with all of the braces and bandages overtaking his head and his tiny frame. But even still, the little guy had a personality that Frank found very endearing.

Frank could tell that, even in the little guy’s medicated state, the tiny puppy was happy to have some company and relished the limited affection that Joey and the kids were able to shower on him. Frank stood back and watched as his family cooed over the one eyed dog and he found himself so proud of Joey for not giving up on the puppy.

The vet showed Joey how she could hold the injured dog without hurting him, and Frank witnessed the two of them bonded on the spot. It amazed Frank to watch how Joey loved. Whether it was her loving him, the kids, her friends, or even the various pets she had, it didn’t matter. When Joey opened her heart wide, Frank felt as though warm sunshine was spreading throughout his chest. He could tell that that little dog fell in love with her and felt safe with her and it was a beautiful scene to watch.

“Excuse me, Mr. Kincade?” a young pretty brunette veterinary clerk approached Frank with a file and pulled him away from Joey and the kids and lead him to the back of the room.

“Adler.” Frank corrected her as he followed her. “Frank Alder.”

“Sorry. The name on the file was, Kincade. I assumed it was your family’s name.” The clerk blushed and apologized after she bit her bottom lip and looked him up and down. “Silly me. I see that you’re not wearing a ring, I thought you were married.” She added with a flirtatious smile and a youthful giggle. “Lucky me. Maybe we can get a drink sometime?”

Frank had barely heard anything that she had said after, _‘I assumed it was your family’s name.’_ After hearing that, he nodded and smiled a smile that was way too big for the situation as he replayed the words in his head and let them sink in. He tried to hide his elation by looking down to the floor in an attempt to play it cool, but he was suddenly giddy like a little kid and couldn’t seem to contain himself.

Frank kept replaying the words _'family’s name,’_ in his head. He wasn’t sure what had come over him because he was definitely no stranger to people mistaking him for Mary’s father. Instead of correcting them, he usually let it slide because it was easier than explaining to people that he was her uncle. But he had to admit, that he secretly loved it, after all, he was Mary’s father in every way that counted.

But this time was different. This time Frank had, not only been mistaken for Mary’s father again, but for as Sam’s father, as well. That great feeling appeared to double now with Sam in the mix. But the real source of Frank’s delight had come from being mistaken as Joey’s husband. It gave Frank a powerful high that he never saw coming. So much so, that Frank couldn’t care less about being referred to as ‘Mr. Kincade.’

But when Frank noticed the clerk standing a little too close to him and sending off some major seduction signals, Frank got control of himself and remembered where he was before the young girl got herself fired. Frank felt terrible for possibly leading her on with all of his giddy energy when she handed him her phone number and let their fingers touch for a little longer than necessary. She must have assumed that it was smiling like a idiot because of her attention.

Even in her scrubs, Frank could see that the vet clerk was hot. He was taken, of course, but he still had eyes. The vet clerk was 100% his type, so much so, that Frank swallowed hard and took another look at her and wondered if they had hookup at some point. That would be the only way to explain her suddenly brazenness because Frank was taken completely off guard by her advances and refused to believe that he had been out of the dating world for so long that he didn’t see her coming a mile away. Maybe they had already spent the night together and he had forgotten; it wouldn’t have been the first time.

“In all honesty, I might as well be married.” Frank tried to defuse the situation by plastering a charming smile on his face and pointing his chin towards Joey and the kids on the other side of the room. “Actually, now that you mention it, taking her name doesn’t sound all that bad to tell you the truth. She’s really amazing. Lucky _me._ ” He politely stressed.

When Frank finally saw disappointment fill the woman’s eyes, he let out a relieved breath that confused him for a moment. Turning down hot women hadn’t been the Frank Adler way six months ago. But now, having a woman hit on him made him feel uncomfortable in a way that he had never experienced.

Frank gave the woman back her number and looked over and was thankful that Joey and the kids were still fussing over the puppy. Joey listened very careful to the vet explain to her the operation that removed the dog’s eye and the aftercare that he would need for that and for his little broken leg. But because the kids were in the room the vet tried to lighten the mood by and telling them stories of how cute and resistant the puppy had been during his stay.

“He’s a favourite here and we’ll all be sad to see him go.” The vet explained to the kids. “We were all tempted to name him. Did you guys have any ideas so we can stop calling puppy number 22.”

Frank almost laughed when both of the kids erupted with excited suggestions and spoke on top of each other. Instead of getting involved in that mess, Frank turned back to the still hot but now more professional vet clerk. “Sorry. You were saying?”

“Yes.” The clerk snapped out whatever trance Frank’s good looks had sent her into and reached into her file and pulled out a series of papers. “I’ve tried to give these to Mr. Clausson, but he didn’t stay long enough for me to print them out. He just paid and left, rather abruptly actually, and I don’t have an mailing address on file for him. But he said that he was family.”

“Mr. Clausson?” Frank snapped a little louder than he should have because, before he knew it, Joey had put the puppy down and was by his side taking the paperwork out of his hands and scanning it over.

“What does _Mr. Clausson_ have to do with this?” Frank demanded as he place one hand on the back of Joey neck and ran the other hand down his face in frustration. First Evelyn and now this, they just couldn’t seem to escape their toxic families for a second.

The poor vet clerk’s mouth hung open in confusion, obviously, she had no idea the can of worms that she had opened and was just doing her job. Frank realized what an ass he was being and mouthed an apology and focused on Joey once the clerk scurried off and left them alone.

“They’re receipts.” Joey informed him as she read. “Everything has been paid for. Everything. All the tests and xrays...Man, that pup is worth twice his weight in gold, by the way.” Joey added with groan.

“Your father came in here and paid the bill? Is he still in town?” Frank fumed. He’d fantasized about getting in that man’s face after everything that he’d done to Joey, but Frank preferred having him miles away from his family, instead.

“No. It’s Cam.” Joey sighed in relief when she saw finally found a signature at the bottom of one of the forms. If she’d read the agreement right, Cam had agreed to pay for any treatments resulting from what they were referring to as ‘the accident’.

 _Accident my ass_. Joey silently cursed to herself. But when she read on, she found that Cam had even preemptively payed to get the chihuahua fixed in the future and agreed to have any physical therapy the puppy might need from his fractured shoulder and leg charged to his credit card. Those gestures were kind and thoughtful and they had Joey remembering how sorry and shameful Cam looked that night and her half brother’s actions started to make sense.

“I think he’s trying to make it right.” Joey explained. “I told you already how much Cam tried to help when Mitch crashed the party.”

“No.” Frank stated with authority when he sensed trouble brewing. “I know what you’re thinking and we are not accepting that man’s money.”

“He isn’t asking for anything, Frank.” Joey pointed out. “I don’t know if he ever planned on us finding out, to be honest. I don’t think that this is about scamming us. I have a feeling it has everything to do with helping the dog behind Mitch’s back.”

“I don’t care. I will not be indebted to him or your father in any way.” Frank stressed and tried to keep his voice down when he saw Mary trying to eavesdrop on their conversation as she petted the chihuahua in his medical crate and tried to get Sam to stop trying to kiss him.

“This is what I would do.” Joey whispered as she held up the receipts.

“What?”

“If I were in Cam’s shoes and I watched Mitch... _be Mitch._ Afterwards, I would do whatever I could to make amends. Even though it was my shitty father’s fault, I know that I’d try to help Mitch’s victims...and I’d do it as privately as I could.” Joey added with a sad tired sigh.

“This is different, you’re not connected to Mitch.” Frank pointed out. He hated that dignified look on her face that Joey was in the process of wearing, it was a tell tale sign that she was in real pain. Having her confess last night that she had always been worried about possibly being like her father still bothered Frank and he’d do anything to put her mind at ease.

“But I am. I am connected to him whether I like it or not.”

“Joe.” Frank wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead before he buried his nose in her hair and tried to figure out what he could say to fix this for her. She sounded so defeated and he hated that. “You’re not connected to him in the way that Cam is. It’s different. You’re not like them.”

“Maybe. But I could have turned out like them. Look, Cam’s mother died in a random senseless car accident when he was just a kid. In another time or place, that could have been my mom in that car and not Cam’s and I could have been raised by that monster.” Joey explained as Frank did a very successful job of comforting her.

“I get it.” Frank conceded as he rubbed her back. “I get it, but that doesn’t mean that Cam is a safe person to invite into our lives.”

“I’m not saying that he’s safe or that I want him my life, at all. But what happened to that puppy wasn’t Cam’s fault, he was just as shocked and horrified as the rest of us were. Cam shouldn’t have to carry the guilt of what happened to that little dog. If letting him do this helps alleviate that misplaced guilt, then accepting it is the right thing to do.”

“Dammit, Joey.” Frank tell by the look in her eyes and that this was fight he was going to lose. He trusted Joey’s instincts, but didn’t like her giving her half-brother the benefit of the doubt. For Frank, his defensive walls came out fast and furious when he sensed a threat but he had to remind himself that that was his style and not Joey’s.

“Look you don’t know what it’s like to be related to a man like that.” Joey tried to explain as she watched Frank stand up a little straighter when he heard the raw emotion come through in her voice. “Right or wrong, you start to feel responsible for the pain that he causes people. Cam is doing exactly what I would do. The only difference is I’d be on a payment plan or something, apparent my brother has some serious cash to throw around. Spending it on that dog is a very Cam-like fuck you to Mitch, and I don’t want to take that away from him.”

“Be careful, Kincade.” Frank warned. “I don’t want you getting hurt by those people.”

“Gosh, I love you.” Joey deeply sighed as she tilted her head with a dreamy expression on her face. “You’re so hot, you know that.”

“Nice defection.” Frank smirked down at her as his eyes narrowed in confusion. He was flattered (but puzzled) by the compliment. “Thank you?”

“No, seriously. I love you, Adler. All of this stuff with our families; it really sucks. Every single bit of it majorly sucks. But even with all of the craziness and the stress, I’m still happier than I’ve ever been.” Joey confessed with playful laughter in her voice that sounded more like that woman he loved. “That’s gotta be because of you, Mr. Playa.”

“You saw that!” Frank whispered loudly and tried not to burst out laughing when it dawned on him that Joey was teasing him about the hot vet clerk hitting on him.

“Of course I did!” Joey giggled with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “That girl was hot as hell and was totally into you, the temperature in the whole room went up. I wanted to keep the kids distracted in case things got R rated up in here.”

“You didn’t think I’d do anything, did you?” Frank incredulously asked. He was half ready to defend himself but had a feeling that she was just messing with him.

“No. Of course not, silly.” Joey giggled. “I meant R rated for violence, not nudity! Bitch had better back up.” She teased and playfully pretended like she was the jealous type.

“I see. It was all my fault, by the way.” Frank playfully groaned. “She called me _‘Mr. Kincade’_ and I got all misty eyed and love struck. She must have assumed that I was into her. Her scrubs were pretty cute, but I only have eyes for you, Ms. Kincade.”

“Aww, you love me!” Joey cooed as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’re adorable. But, for real, I’m used to the way women look at you, and I don’t blame them. You’re smokin’ hot, they can’t help but gawk at you. But Mr. Kincade doesn’t sound that terrible, maybe she’s on to something.”

“Shuddup.” Frank blushed as he smiled a boyish bashful smile that made Joey giggle even louder. “I swear, if you knew how many guys I catch checking you out on a daily basis...”

“Whatever.” Joey playfully scoffed away his praise and smoothed out his shirt for him.

“True story. You know, I’m not actually as grumpy as you think I am.” Frank teased as they walked back to the kids together. “Truth is, I’m just always trying to scowl away all the men ready swoop in and hit on my girl.”

“That’s gotta be it.” Joey sassed back and played along. “We gotta go home and pack, guys. Did you two come up with a name yet.” She asked Mary and Sam.

“Not yet.” Mary groaned. “I’m still trying to convince Sam not to name him after a Bubble Guppie.”

“Mommy, he’s only got one eye now? Is dat true?” Sam asked as the puppy tried his best to curl up into a small ball in his little hospital bed crate. In his fragile state, all of the new excitement was a little too much for the poor nameless puppy; they were leaving at the best time.

“Yup. Just like Fred and Captain Hook.” Joey tried to explain in an upbeat way in an attempt to save off another emotional meltdown from her kind hearted son.

“So he’s like a pirate?” Sam lit up at prospect and it made both Joey and Frank smile down proudly at their little man.

“Exactly!” Frank boomed with a bright proud smile. “Say, maybe he needs a pirate name, then huh?”

After pulling out their phones and listing off dozen crazy pirate names, all of which didn’t seem to fit the tiny long haired chihuahua, Mary blurted out. “Jolly Roger! Like the pirate flag.”

“I love it!” Joey nearly shouted as soon as she heard the name Roger pass Mary’s lips. She high fived Mary and pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head in her enthusiasm. Roger was coolest name ever and she was so proud of Mary for coming up with it.

“Roger.” Frank said aloud and let the name dance around in his head and when he started to love it just as much as everyone else did he nodded in agreement.

“Roger that.” The vet chimed in with a terrible pun that had Joey giggling and Frank trying not to smile.

That was one item Joey could happily check off her list. Roger was going to be fine, and she could finally breathe a little easier all things considered. Now she just had to make sure that the rest of her family would be okay, too.

\-----------------

“I never asked you.” Frank whispered into Joey’s ear as they walked back to the car. “Where exactly is Pirate Roger going to plunder when he gets sprung from here?”

Instead of answering him, Joey pressed her lips together and looked away from him. Frank read her guilty mind and couldn’t believe that she was planning on bringing another animal into their already crazy pet hair filled life.

“Seriously, Joe!” Frank admonished “Two kids, two cats, and now two dogs. I know your place is bigger than mine, but it’s starting to feel a helluva lot smaller. Can’t we find him another home?”

“Come on! Roger is less than of the half the size of the cats,” Joey huffed at him. “It’s not like he’s going to take up a ton of room. The little guy could live in my purse and bury his booty treasure there and you’d never even see him.”

“I can’t fault your logic, there.” Frank dryly teased. _“Booty.”_ Frank repeated and tried not to laugh and succumb to Joey’s cuteness. “Were you even going to talk to me about it?” Frank asked in a slightly accusatory tone.

“Not really.” Joey continued to tease him as she bumped his shoulder with her’s as they strolled through the parking lot. “I was just hoping that a few years would go by and you wouldn’t notice a little one eyed dog limping around the house.” Joey stared at Frank straight faced until he cracked up, finally, and started laughing with her. “Of course I was going to talk to you about, it’s your house, too. But I really hope that you don’t fight me on this because, as harsh as it sounds, I’m not asking for your permission. I plan on making it my life’s mission to make sure that that dog lives like a king for the rest of his very long pirate life and they best way for that to happen is for him to live with us so I can spoil him.”

“Ah, I see.” Frank hummed. “So a very _Joey-like_ fuck you to the old man, huh?” Frank cermised with a proud smirk. He was starting to understand where Joey and Cameron were coming from. Frank finally realized that they both couldn’t stand to see Roger become Mitch’s victim and were fighting back in their own ways. Cameron had the money to throw around, and Joey definitely had all the love that that one eyed dog would ever need. Frank understood why Roger was important to Joey so, in turn, Roger became important to Frank, as well. “Count me in then. What’s one more one-eyed pet in the Alder-Kincade household. Besides, between him and Fred, they’ll have a full set of eyes.”

“Does that mean that we’re finally moving into Joey’s house for good now?” Mary turned around and them called them out as Sam held on to her hand and giggled.

“Oh shit, I guess the cat’s out of the bag!” Joey whispered into Frank’s arm as they walked up to their car.

“How would you feel about that?” Frank casually asked to the back of Mary’s head as Joey pressed her face against his bicep to try and hide her excitement. They should have been more careful about what they said when the kids were in earshot, but in their defense, it was a question that they both suspected that they already knew the answer to and hiding things just wasn’t really a part of their family dynamic and they both loved that.

“I’d think that it was about time.” Mary sarcastically sung out while she opened the car door for Sam. “Geeze, what took you guys so long, anyway?”

\-------------------------------

The rest of their afternoon was spent packing and trying to get the kids somewhat healthy enough for a 4 hour flight to Montana. Frank used the steam trick in the bathroom to help the kids' coughs before bedtime, while Joey ran around and got everything squared away with her mom.

Jessie had agreed to look after Gus and the cats, not to mention, pick up Roger for her in a couple of days. She couldn’t help but tease her daughter that she loved being a grandmother to all of her grandbabies, even the furry ones.

Jessie could tell that Joey was under a fair amount of pressure and also surprised her by informing her that she was also going to help Sheryl out where she could during Robert and Patricia's wedding and couldn’t help but smile when she actually saw the some of the stress leave her daughter’s body.

“You set the bar way too high, Ma. You’re too good to me.” Joey didn’t know what she would do without her mother and had no way of adequately expressing her gratitude. Joey wished that she could be half of the mother to Mary and Sam that her mother had been to her. Because her kids deserve the best and the best was definitely Jessie.

“I’m so proud of you, Josephine.” Jessie praised her only child with happy tears in her eyes. “I don’t tell you that enough.”

“Ma.” Joey humbly lowered her eyes down to her feet but her mother brought her chin up with her finger and made her look her in the eyes.

“All these years, I thought that I had lost you to the world.”

“No, Ma.” Joey sniffed. “You could never lose me.”

“I know that now. Besides, I never took it personally. You followed your heart, and it lead you all over the world. But now your heart brought you back home. Not only did you come home, but I got to see you blossom into this amazing mother.”

“I’m not sure how amazing I am.”

“You are, baby girl. You were always an amazing woman and now you’re also an amazing mother to those kids. Watching you and Mary bond... I have practically known that girl her whole life.” Jessie smiled and seemed lost in her memories. “Now she’s my granddaughter.”

Joey swallowed hard and realized the simple fact that it wasn’t just her and Frank’s hearts that would be broken if Evelyn won custody of Mary. It was easy for Joey to focus only on her own potential pain, but Mary had touched the lives of so many people and her loss would be deeply felt by everyone around them.

“I know that being a mother wasn’t what you knew,” Jessie explained as she tucked her daughter’s hair behind her ears. “but you’ve never let it stop you from growing and learning. I’m so proud that you’ve never let the fact that you aren’t their biological mother stop you from opening your heart and building a safe and loving home for them. They are so lucky to have you, Joey. Hell, I’m lucky to have you.” Jessie smiled. “You’re brave in a way that makes me look up to you in so many different ways.”

 _“Ma!”_ Joey whined and stomped her foot like a child. “I told Frank that I was sick of crying, and I meant it.” Joey sniffed and tried to swallow down the hard lump in her throat. “You’re not making it easy on me.”

“You’re right. No more crying.” Jessie ordered and motioned for her daughter to stand up straighter. “Go and do what you have to do to help your family. Let me take care of everything here, while you’re gone.”

“Are you sure? I hate dumping all of this on you.”

“I’m positive. Roberta should be back in a day or two, and she is chomping at the bit to help out, as well. That’s what family is for, my love. We know that none of this was your choice, but we’re counting on you to make it right, sweetheart.”

Emotionally, Joey felt like she had been hit by a bus by the time she left her mother’s house. But she did a half decent job of keeping her word and she didn’t let a single tear fall while she thanked her mother a dozen more times before she left and walked back to her house.

But as soon as Frank’s happy handsome face greeted her at the door and proudly informed her that both of the kids were feeling better and that he had successfully put them to bed single handedly, Joey felt all of the stress and pressure that she had been tried to hide bubble up and she sobbed into her hands.

“Shit!” Frank jumped into action and pulled her against his chest and kissed the top of her head. He knew that she’d been trying to be strong for too long and was bound to crack at some point. “Shh, baby. It’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that.” Joey cried into her hands. Frank could barely understand her, but kissed her head again and started to rub her back until she calmed down. “You barely kept her last time. What if we lose her?”

“That won’t happen.” Frank vowed with confidence. It was an odd feeling to be the person that held out hope and kept the faith, but he really was changing in so many ways. Frank suddenly had faith that everything was going to work out and he wanted to be strong for the woman he loved when she couldn’t be.

“How are we going to pull this off, Frank?” Joey looked up at him, still in his arms and with tears streaming down her face. “I can’t even go one damn day without crying, how is a wimp like me going to take on a woman like your mother?”

“Wimp?” Frank chuckled as he shook his head and squeezed her tighter. _“You care._ That’s why you cry, dummy. And caring can be one of the bravest things that a person can do. My mother has nothing on you, I promise. You’re the toughest person I’ve ever known, Josephine Kincade.”

“How are we going to pull this off?” Joey repeated as she tried to speak through her choked sobs. She really valued his opinion and hoped that she didn’t let him down in Montana. Joey wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get over it if she blew it for everyone.

“With me, Joey. We’re going to pull this off together.” Frank assured her. “Remember, Evelyn wants Walter to believe that she has turned into Mother Teresa and brought the family back together. In order for her to pull that off, Evelyn has got to play nice with us, too. It’ll trippy to watch her on her best behaviour but we’ll be ready for her.”

“Are you sure?”

“Babe.” Frank sighed as he ran a hand down his beard. “I went through this before, but she never gave me an out. Last time, there was nothing that I could do to get her to back down, other than beat her in court. But this time she’s given us reason to believe that she might actually back off. Last time...last time I felt so lost, Joe. At least this time I have hope. I have you now, too. You’re my ace in the hole.”

“I’ll do my best.” Joey sniffed as she wiped her tears away and Frank ran his hands up and down her arms to comfort her. “Don’t tell my mom that I caved in and started crying again. She was really rooting for me.”

“Your secret is safe with me, Joe.” Frank chuckled as he pulled her into a loud bear hug and carried her around the room like that until she burst into giggled fit and begged him to let her go through her laughter.

Joey hoped that Frank had put his faith in the right person and that she could live up to his expectations not make things worse, because letting him down was not an option for her.

\--------------------

The next morning was travel day and it was just as frantic and as chaotic as you would have expected it to have been considering the fact that Frank and Joey were traveling with two barely healthy children.

Frank was impressed with Joey’s organizational skills and could see the world traveler in her peeking through and found her adventurous spirit a little hot. It almost as if the idea of spreading her wings gave Joey a glow that only tasting pure freedom could be responsible for. It made Frank want to follow her all over the world and see the world through her eyes.

But little did Frank know as they rushed to the customer service desk to pick up their plane tickets Joey, as glowy as she was, was frazzled and still going through a mountain of checklists in her head. She didn’t feel prepared at all for this trip at all and really hoped that she hadn’t forgotten anything for the kids.

She told herself to stop stressing out and enjoy a free trip to Montana with her kids and the hottest boat mechanic in the world. But as the made their way further through the airport, Joey was quickly discovering that traveling with children was absolutely exhausting and they hadn’t even boarded their plane yet.

“What!? No no no.” Frank began arguing with the airport customer service agent behind a large desk as Joey got down on her knees and tended to the kids by wiping their noses and cleaning their hands again before the flight. “There has to be some kind of mistake. These are supposed to be tickets to Montana. Check again.”

“What the hell?” Joey mumbled to Mary, who was just as confused as she was.

Joey looked up to Frank for answers; she could only make out one side of the conversation, but judging by Frank’s tone the pissed off look on his face, this couldn’t be good.

“Yes, Evelyn Adler.” Frank loudly snapped the customer service agent as he made them double check their plane tickets. “My mother left these? These ones? Are you sure? ….no no, it’s not your fault. Thank you.” Frank finally soften towards the agent as he pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“What happened?” Mary asked her uncle. “Are we gunna to miss our flight? Does that mean we can go home now?”

“No, we’re not going to miss our flight.” Frank sighed as he finished reading the tickets then picked up Sam and rested him on his hip. “Because our flight to _Boston_ doesn’t leave for another two hours.”

 _ **“Boston!?”**_ Joey and Mary shouted at the same time.

“Boston.” Frank affirmed with a bitter groan but tried to dial back his annoyance for Sam’s sake. “I really have no idea what my mother is up to this time. But this can’t be good.”

 


	28. "Boston"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey find out why Evelyn had them travel to Boston.

Frank was almost annoyed with how well behaved Mary and Sam were on the plane. But he should have known that Joey would have thought of everything, even down to the lollipops and chewing gum they needed to keep their little ears from hurting during both the plane’s ascent and descent. They were pretty much happy for the whole flight and Frank didn’t get the opportunity to tease Joey over the hardships of traveling with kids which meant he actually got to read half of his book instead.

She was such a good mom, but Frank wished that Joey would give herself a break and stop being so hard on herself. Mary and Sam were happy, well adjusted kids, and were a delight to the other passengers and Frank knew that a lot of the credit should go to his worried girlfriend.

But then they landed at Boston's Logan Airport to a fresh snowstorm that made Joey’s heart sink. Sam still didn’t have a winter coat and she knew that his little hoodie just wouldn’t keep him warm enough. She felt like such a failure right out of the gate.

“Already on it, Kincade.” Frank announced as the waited to pick up their checked luggage. The weather was fairly unexpected, and he could read the panic written all over her face.

Joey watched as Frank opened up his carry on, took out an old sweater of his, and made a game of wrapping up the little boy in it like a blanket before they headed out into the cold.

Sam could barely move and, of course, he found his predicament pretty hilarious. The very formal driver waiting for them by the exit holding a sign that said “Mr. Adler” gave them all a warm hearted smile when he saw them, as well.

Joey wasn’t used to being picked up from the airport by a limo, but the kids both thought that it was coolest thing that had ever happened.

“A little much, huh?” Joey yawned to Frank as the driver held open the door for them and Frank helped her inside.

“That’s my mother for you. It’s either an apology or a reminder.”

“Reminder?”

“Money, money is the reminder.” Frank huffed as he sat down and buckled in Sam as Joey helped Mary with her seatbelt. “That is, if she still doesn’t realize that we don’t give a shit about any of that.”

“Let’s not get too pissed off at her before we even get there, okay.” Joey yawned again. “Big happy family remember?”

Joey relaxed into the limo’s big leather seats and got comfortable as the kids checked out the sights through the window and Frank explained Boston’s different landmarks to them. Joey closed her eyes and fell asleep to the sound of Frank’s deep rich voice and her children’s amazed ooo’s and ahhh’s.

It felt like mere seconds had gone by the time Joey felt Frank lovingly caressing her face to wake her up.

“We’re here, sleepyhead.” Frank softly cooed in ear.

“Shit, I must have passed out.” Joey quickly woke up and panicked and frantically looked around to try and gain her barings, she’d never felt so tired before in her life. It felt as though she had just woken up from a coma. So much so that Sam was giggling at her as he showed off his new winter coat.

“We made a pit stop.” Frank informed her. “I ran into the mall with the kids. It gave you a chance to sleep a little bit more before we got here.”

“Oh wow. I hope I didn’t snore too loud.” Joey smiled to their driver as he got out from the limo and got their luggage.

Joey and Frank shared a sweet smile before Joey noticed that Mary had on a new pink winter hat on and playfully flicked her pom pom with her finger. In fact, as Joey started to wake up she noticed that Frank had taken care of everything and Mary and Sam had all of the winter gear that they’d need. Joey smiled at Frank and mouthed “thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, yet.” Frank groaned as he looked out the window of the limo and saw his mother waiting for them at the top of the steps to her brownstone.

\-------------------------

Evelyn’s home, as impressive as it was, was exactly the kind of home that Joey expected her to have. Rich history and luxury ran throughout the outside of the brownstone. Everything felt very impressive and traditional, but had very little personality compared to the other homes that lined the street.

Maybe the nap that Frank had let her have in the limo had been exactly what Joey needed to play nice with Frank’s mother. Joey sucked it up and set an example for Mary and Sam when she smiled and gave the British woman a welcoming hug as if there were no bad blood between them. If they had to fake smile and pretend to be one big happy family, Joey got an early start and vowed not to be the weak link.

“Nice to see that you made it, even though you’re rather late.” Evelyn cleared her throat after she was taken off guard with Joey’s hug. “How was your flight?”

Neither Frank or Joey had an opportunity to answer when Sam chimed in told Evelyn everything about his first plane ride in the kind of adorable, yet painstaking, detail that only a four year old could.

The cold stare that Frank had for his mother was quickly being replaced with loving pride as he listened to Sam yammer on. Sam could break down anyone’s defensives, including his mother’s. Kids really have a great way of unintentionally breaking the tension.

“I hear that _Montana_ is lovely this time of year.” Frank stated with a dry edge to his voice.

“Yes, about that.” Evelyn started to explain as the kids peeled off their coats.

“Can I get the kids squared away before we....before we do whatever it is we’re going to do?” Joey interrupted before a full blown fight broke out between Frank and his mother.

“Very well.” Evelyn sighed before she gave Frank instructions on where to bring their luggage and gave Mary her wifi password so that she could catch up on the school work that she was missing.

If Joey didn’t know any better, she’d think that Frank’s mother was a little nervous and quietly expressed as much to Frank when they had a second alone in Frank’s old bedroom.

“Maybe.” Frank shrugged. “Don’t worry too much about it. I’m sure she’s just not used to having a full house. Maybe she’s worried that the kids are going to bust up some of her precious antiques.”

“Call me petty, but I actually really hope that they do.” Joey slyly whispered with a wink.

Frank plopped his suitcase on the his old bed and smiled down at her but before he could lean down to kiss her, there was a knock at the open bedroom door.

“Josephine, dear. You’ll be in the room that attaches through that bathroom.” Evelyn announced without a single trace of humor.

“You can’t be serious?” Joey blurted out without thinking. They weren’t teenagers, her and Frank had been sharing a bed for months now and were on the verge of moving in together.

“To be honest, it’s not a tradition that I especially care for but it was my mother in law’s way when this was her brownstone.” Evelyn explained. “But I’m sure the two of you will survive until you decide to possibly live a less bohemian lifestyle -”

“Mother.” Frank started to protest but Evelyn ignored his concerns as she usually did.

“In any event. Unfortunately there is a fundraiser this evening that I couldn’t get out of.” As Evelyn checked her watch Joey and Frank exchanged confused looks. “Thus the change in our travel plans.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Frank cautiously asked, but had a feeling he knew what was coming.

“Well at first, nothing at all. But once I mentioned that I had to cancel because I had plans with my son, Mrs. Melburn insisted that you should come along as well.”

“Melburn!” Frank snapped when he heard the name. Joey figured there was history there when Frank ran his hand over is bearded chin in frustration.

“Her son in law is working on his own Millennial Problem, as well.” Evelyn explained. “The Melburn family is holding a fundraiser for the Harvard mathematics department. I will need their help once Diane’s theory is through the preliminary stages. You know how all of this works, Frank.”

“Yes, yes unfortunately I do. A bunch of snobby suits, congratulating each other on how wonderfully rich and accomplished they are.”

“Yes, here it is.” Evelyn taunted him. “How terrible it is for a person to possibly be successful at anything. I expect you to be on your best behaviour, do you understand.” She sharply insisted through her teeth.

Her bitter tone had Frank stand up straighter as if he were a child being chastised and Joey just couldn’t stand by and watch Evelyn berate him like that.

“We’re doing you a favour, and don’t you forget it.” Joey stood in front of Frank and defended him without flinching.

“Yes you are.” Evelyn conceded with a gentler voice once she realized that Joey meant business.

“We put our entire lives on hold to go to Montana and meet Walter, and now we find ourselves in Boston going to a fundraiser. A little gratitude, after everything that you’ve put us through, should be in order, don’t you think?”

“About what I said on your porch…” Evelyn started to explain.

“Don’t remind me.” Joey dismissed her. Joey could see Evelyn’s eyes soften towards her and if Joey didn’t know any better she saw some shame behind her eyes, as well. But Joey couldn’t care less about Evelyn’s feelings. Evelyn had made her bed and the two of them were not friends and that was all Evelyn’s doing. “We’re both well aware of what’s at stake and we’ll keep our end of the deal. Let’s get this over with so we can put on a good show for your husband in Montana.”

“Very well.” Evelyn sighed and squared her shoulders. Joey’s cold no nonsense tone seemed to upset her and Frank found his mother’s vulnerability a little confusing. Maybe she had actually come to care for Joey, afterall and didn’t like being at odds with her. “In your closet you will find an appropriate dress for tonight. I took the liberty of purchasing three different sizes. One of them should fit.”

“I did pack my own clothes.” Joey huffed as she crossed her arms in disgust.

“Did you now?” Evelyn condescendingly sung out. “Do you normally pack black tie attire? I’m impressed.”

“Of course not, mother.” Frank defended Joey and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t believe that they were stuck in this mess, formal black tie fundraisers were never part of the deal.

“My point exactly.” Evelyn explained. “And you have a tux waiting for you in your closet as well.”

“What about the kids?” Joey asked in a less defensive voice. “They still aren’t feeling well and I doubt they’d have much fun tagging along.”

“My housekeeper has agreed to watch them for you tonight. Marjory has been with me for many years and she is wonderful with children.”

Frank raised an eyebrow and gave his mother a look that finally made her smile.

“She’s better with children than I am.” Evelyn joked in a charming self deprecating way that made Frank and Joey smile. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Evelyn took her leave and heard Frank’s booming laughter fill the hallway when Joey whispered to Frank. “I’m sure Charles Manson is better with kids than she is. That’s not really saying much.”

\----------------------------------------

After bringing her suitcase into Diane’s old bedroom, Joey explored Evelyn’s brownstone a bit in search of Mary and Sam and tried to imagine what it was like for Frank to grow up there. Everything was so beautiful and lush but in a dark and traditional way. Every item had its place and Joey was sure there was a history behind each piece of art and furniture. The odd family picture that were displayed were so formal, everyone was dressed in their best but not a single smile between the four of them. It was almost as if they were all strangers to each other instead of a family.

Joey started to understand Frank’s sadness a bit more. He was the one thing in that home that didn’t fit the way that Evelyn had planned. A square peg that she always tried to fit into a round hole.

Embracing all of Frank’s flaws and rough edges became more and more important to Joey as she walked through that house. With her, Joey vowed that Frank would always be loved for being his true self.

Joey finally found Mary in a study running her little fingers along the spines of row of leather bound books, lost in her thoughts.

“Hey, there you are. I knew I’d find you where the books were.” Joey playfully announced as she came up from behind her and placed her hand on Mary’s forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Mary coughed. Mary wasn’t warm and the sound of her cough had started to sound more normal and less croupy so Joey kissed the top of Mary’s head and felt a little more relaxed now that she was on the mend. But Joey could tell that there was something bothering her.

“What’s up? What’s going on in that genius mind of yours, huh?’

Mary sighed and went over to the large overstuffed leather couch and plopped down and opened up her laptop instead of answering her.

“Nice try, Mary.” Joey teased as she followed her and plopped down beside her in exactly the same exaggerated way that Mary that plopped down. “Spill it.”

“What’s the point.” Mary grumbled almost to herself.

“Because I love you and want to know if something is bothering you, silly. You can always talk to me you know. Talk to me about anything.” Joey soothed as she wrapped her arm around her and played with her soft blond hair. “Even if I can’t fix it, sometimes just talking about whatever is bothering you can help.”

“No, I mean, what is the point of any of _this?”_ Mary argued as she gestured to her laptop and the long calculus problem she was working on. “My mom’s picture should be on that wall. She solved that problem. Why doesn’t that matter?”

“Of course it matters, sweetheart.” Joey answered as she pulled the angry little girl against her side and rested her chin on the top of her head. “You’re mother was brilliant, and your grandmother is going to make sure that whole world knows it.”

“But it’s all about money. That isn’t fair. Money has nothing to do with it.”

“You’re right.” Joey nodded.

“What if I solve my own big problem one day?” Mary whined. “Are we going to need a ton of money to get my picture on that wall, too?”

“No, sweetheart.” Joey wasn’t sure what she could say to make Mary feel better. She was right though, all that should matter was the work, not the politics or glory involved. “When. Not if, but _when_ you solve your own problem. You will be here to explain your findings and walk other mathematicians through it so that they’ll understand it. You won't have to hire the same kind of people that your grandmother has to.”

“And my mom killed herself, so she can’t do it herself.” The sharpness in Mary’s voice cut straight through Joey’s heart. Her and Mary had never really talked about Diane before. These were waters that Joey wasn’t sure how to wade through but she was willing to try if it helped her.

“It’s okay to be mad at your mom for not being here. I wish she was here, too.”

“You do?”

“Yes. I wish that I could have met her, and that she could see what an amazing person you are. Frank has told me so many stories about her and about how much she loved you.”

“I wish she was here, too.” Mary confessed when she realized that she really could share anything with Joey without judgement. Even feelings about her mom. “Do you think that my grandmother will ever get my mom’s problem published?”

“Yes, I do.” Joey attested with confidence. Just then Joey looked up and noticed that Evelyn was standing in the doorway and had been listening to the two of them together. “Trust me, sweetheart.” Joey said more to Evelyn than to Mary. “You don’t have to worry about anything. When your grandmother wants something, she doesn’t let anything get in her way.”

After Joey’s talk with Mary, making sure that Diane’s problem got published became as important to Joey as it was to Evelyn. But Joey was still too angry with Evelyn to let her know that she was rooting for her.

“Marjory just arrived, Josephine.” Evelyn softly informed them after she took in the sight of Joey and Mary together looking very much like mother and daughter. “Her and Sam are baking cookies in the kitchen if you would like to join them, Mary.”

Mary eagerly closed her laptop and jumped off the couch and was about to run off to the kitchen, but turned back and wrapped her arms around Joey’s neck.

“Thanks for listening, Joey.” Mary smiled as she hugged her. “You’re really cool like that.”

“Thanks, baby girl. I’ll always be here for you.” Joey promised as she hugged her back.

As Mary left to join Sam in the kitchen, Joey and Evelyn were left in an awkward silence that left Joey feeling sad. Her and Evelyn had been so close to becoming friends that night in her hotel room. Joey wasn’t nearly as cynical as Frank. Even now, Joey had a hard time believing that Evelyn had spent their evening together trying to finesse information from her that she could use against Frank. The things that Evelyn had confessed to her were too honest and raw to have been a manipulation.

But whatever her motives were, that was in past. Evelyn had crossed a major line when she threatened another custody case the day after.

“I’m not the enemy, my dear.” Evelyn tried to assure her as if she could read Joey’s mind.

The shame behind Evelyn’s eyes was still there and there was still a big part of Joey that longed for peace. Maybe Evelyn regretted using their love for Mary against them, or maybe Joey was seeing emotion where there was none. Either way, Joey held back her snarky attitude before she said, _“well you could’ve fooled me.”_

“I really you’re hope not,” Joey sadly sighed as she and pushed herself off the couch and held the side of her head when she felt dizzy.

“Are you alright? You look pale, have you eaten anything?”

“I’m fine.” Joey lied. She was still tired and standing up too fast gave her a bit of a head rush so she made a mental note to grab a little something to eat. But Joey didn’t want to give Evelyn the satisfaction of being right. She had been stressed out and running all over the place for days now because of her in the first place.

“Very well, I’ll leave you to it then. We’re expected at the Melburn’s by eight. I hope that gives you enough time to get ready.”

Joey nodded her head and was about to leave the room to go upstairs, but something stopped her.

“Did you mean any of it?” Joey whispered with a trace of hope in her voice. “That night in your hotel. Did you mean _any_ of what you said?”

Evelyn swallowed hard and stood up a little straighter and Joey braced herself for another battle but was stunned when Evelyn simply responded with, “Every single word,” before she turned on her heel and left Joey there in the hallway.

If Evelyn was telling her the truth, then maybe her and Frank were more alike than Joey had first realized. They both had the unfortunate ability to become their own worst enemy. It made her sad to know that Evelyn might actually want to make amends with Frank but couldn’t stop getting in her own way. Because threatening to take Mary away for the second time did more harm to Evelyn’s cause than anything else.

\----------------------

After Frank successfully snuck a second cookie from Marjory and the kids from the kitchen, he ran upstairs and showered quickly and threw his tux on. As he got dressed, he tried not to be too impressed with his mother for knowing his size and remembering how he hated having a his shirt collar too tight around his neck.

Frank had dreaded the idea of setting foot in his childhood home ever since his mother had pulled a bait and switch at the airport, but so far it wasn’t as bad as he had expected it to be. It helped that Sam’s laughter seemed to ring out throughout the house. That was a sound that those walls weren’t used to hearing and Sam’s youthful giggles seemed to breath new life into the old place. There was something about that kid that brought out the best in every situation.

Frank was so happy to call Sam his son. In no time at all, Sam had his mother’s housekeeper wrapped around his little finger and Frank was satisfied that Mary and Sam would be in good hands while he and Joey were away that night.

But as Frank looked into the bathroom mirror and finished tying his bow tie, he wasn’t sure what he hated more, being under his mother’s thumb, or having to subject Joey to his mother’s circle of _‘friends.’_

It was then that he could hear Joey through the adjoining door cursing and grumbling over something so he opened the door and went to in check on her.

“You okay?” Frank asked, but once he saw Joey in her ballgown, he froze in place. Even though she had her back to him, his girl was absolutely stunning, it was like she had just stepped out of a fairytale.

“I can’t... zip up...this...damn..thing!” Joey complained in front of the full length mirror as she struggled to reach behind her. “To add insult to injury, I have to wear the largest size your mother bought, remind me to lay off the bread tonight.”

“Here. Let me help.” Frank smiled as he walk over and helped her out before she broke her neck. She was so adorable.

Joey caught his reflection in the mirror as he zipped her up and her mouth dropped open in pure delight. “Oh my gosh, Frank. You look like James Bond!”

Frank burst out laughing and left a kiss on the back of her shoulder before he whispered, “You look so beautiful, Joe. You wanna be my Bond girl?”

“In this? I look like a Disney character!” Joey complained with a loud laugh.

She wasn’t wrong. The full length ball gown had capped sleeves and a full skirt with a cinched waist that showed off all of Joey’s curves perfectly. The light taupe colour was so elegant and understated that it looked almost pink at times. It was so refined that you almost couldn’t tell that a neutral animal print covered the expensive fabric.

Frank, again, tried not to be too impressed with his mother’s fashion choices, but the longer her looked at Joey them more beautiful she looked. He just couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Apparently it’s a jungle theme.” Joey explained as she handed him the invitation that Evelyn had left on her bed.

“Well that explains the animal print.”

“Yeah, I was surprised. I didn’t think this would be your mother’s style at all, or any of her friend’s style either for that matter.”

“Wait till you meet the Melburns, you’ll understand.” Frank explained. “Any excuse for that woman to wear the skin of an exotic animal has her doing cartwheels.”

Joey turned her nose up in disgust and Frank couldn’t resist pulling her against him and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

“You don’t belong in that world, Joe. Neither of us do.” Frank explained in between slow and loving kisses. “But if I have to go to another one of these stupid things, I’m so damn proud that I get to walk in there with you on my arm.”

“Forget what I said, you’re not James Bond, are you. You’re my Prince Charming.” Joey flirted as she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him again. “ Say, do you think anyone will notice if I wear my sneakers under this thing?”

“God, I love you!” Frank burst out laughing.

Frank couldn’t remember the last time that he had had so much fun under this roof, and he knew that it was all because of Joey.  
\---------------

By the time that Frank and Joey were done making out and getting ready, Marjory had both of the kids fed and in their pajamas and downstairs ready to say goodbye to them before they left. She was such a kind woman and Joey was confident that the kids were in good hands, as well.

Mary, who usually had a lot to say about everything, was lost in a stunned in silence as she watched the two of them walk down the long staircase arm in arm until Joey winked at her and then got an enthusiastic thumbs up from her little girl.

And Sam, of course, couldn’t stop giggling at them and kept calling them prince and princess.

Evelyn was in a great mood and greeted them in the foyer, looking as elegant as ever in a formal emerald green dress with a subtle palm print embroidered in the fabric. “You both look lovely. The Melburns live two blocks away, so I hope you don’t mind walking. The snow has all but melted.”

“That’s fine.” Joey politely smiled to her before turning to the kids. “You guys be good for Marjory, okay.”

Frank handed Marjory their cell phone numbers and asked her to call them if Mary or Sam’s coughs got any worse or if she had a hard time putting Sam down and explained to her all of the kid’s likes and dislikes while Mary and Joey took a quick selfie together and Evelyn put her coat on.

There was so much commotion going on in the foyer that Joey almost didn’t hear Sam singing out, “Have fun, daddy!”

Joey swallowed hard when Evelyn stood up straighter and shot her a surprised confused look. Instead of dealing with her, Joey looked to Frank but he was already on his knees, tux and all, hugging Sam close and telling him that he loved him and reminding the four year old that he was the man of the house while he was away, but that he still had to listen to Marjory and Mary, as any good father would.

Joey followed Frank’s lead and kissed the kids goodbye as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t until they were walking down the street together that Frank leaned in and whispered to Joey, “That was kinda awesome, huh?” with a big bright beautiful smile stretched across his face.

Joey just took his arm and beamed up at him. Seeing Frank at peak happiness made Joey as giddy as a little school girl. Even though they were dreading this party, Sam always found a way to become the brightest silver lining to any terrible situation and the two of them seemed to float down the street together.

Evelyn was greeted by an old friend who was also headed to the same fundraiser, and the two of them began to walk together. Frank and Joey took that as their cue to fall back a little bit and so they could enjoy some time alone together before they were surrounded by people.

“So I take it you’ve had to go to a lot of these kinda things, huh?” Joey asked as she cuddled Frank’s arm against her to try and stay warm.

“Oh, yeah I’ve been dragged to these things since I was oh...maybe eleven?” Frank groaned.

“That bad? It must have been so boring for you.”

“Sorta, but once me and a bunch of the other kids discovered the opposite sex, we found some creative ways to make these things a little less boring.” Frank added with a devilish twinkle in his eye.

“Oh really?” Joey played along when she sensed that there was a funny story hiding somewhere behind his cheeky smile. “Do tell!”

“It was dumb, really dumb, actually.” Frank chuckled and seemed to replay the memories in his head. “Well, all of children were around my age and none of them wanted to be there. Diane always used her studies to get out of it, but I never really had that luxury. And neither did all of the pretty young daughters of my mother’s friends...if you catch my drift.”

“Oh my god!” Joey gasped and giggled at the same time. “You didn’t! You didn’t just go around and deflower them all did you!”

“No of course not.” Frank defended himself with a straight face and his eyes sparkling with sly humor. “That would be against the rules.”

“There were rules! Like as in a game?” Joey laughed. “Man, you rich kids are something else!”

“You have no idea.” Frank just couldn’t stop laughing as he explained. “Rule one, don’t get caught. That was the most important rule.”

“Obviously.” Joey scoffed as they walked down the street.

“Second rule, was no coming….at least for the boys, at least.”

“Well that’s stupid.” Joey huffed. “Isn’t that the whole point?”

“I know!” Frank laughed. “I told you it was really dumb. But we were all bored hormonal teenagers. Most of the debutantes didn’t want to lose their Vcard in a bathroom or in the coat check room to a kid that they would have to see at the country club every weekend. But now that I look back on it, most of them just wanted us to think that they were still virgins and we played along and we respected their game. Fooling around with them was better than boredom.”

“I bet.” Joey giggled.

“Actually it was the girls that came up with game in the first place. No pun intended.” Frank grinned. “They ran the whole show. So in the end, there was no real intercourse and only the truly incompetent boys couldn’t make them come. But of course, there were boys that couldn’t help it and they ended up coming in their pants. But the worst that would happen was that they got teased a bit and had to clean themselves up afterwards.”

“Well it sounded like it was the girls that really won in that whole scenario. Good for them.” Joey giggled. “But I can’t believe you guys couldn’t just make out in the back of a car like the rest of us did when we were kids.”

“That would have been better, to tell you the truth.” Frank chuckled. “But the thing was, the majority of us had strict parents that over scheduled our time. Those boring parties were the only times they weren’t breathing down our necks. In all honesty, it was probably our way to rebel against them, I guess.”

“So how would this game work?”

“We’d just find creative ways to sneak off with our night’s _‘partner’_ and do pretty much everything but do the actually deed. We’d fool around and, for the boys, if we made our partner come then we’d get another partner. The more partners, the higher your score.”

“I’m scared to ask if you won or if you lost.”

“Are you kidding me? I always won.” Frank boasted. “Those girls pretty much passed me around every night, it was exhausting.”

“I don’t know if I’d be bragging about that if I were you, Adler.” Joey teased. “I don’t doubt your talent, but that’s gotta be pretty frustrating after awhile.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Frank blushed. “Not to kiss and tell, but after hours, there was a girl or two... _or five,_ that would secretly bend the rules and -”

“I get it! Mr. Playa.” Joey playfully cut him off and pretended that she didn’t want to hear any more.

“Especially if those other boys couldn’t get them off.” Frank smiled at the memories. “Those poor frustrated girls would practically tackle me before the end of the night!”

“Do you think that we’ll run into any of your _‘partners’_ tonight?” Joey giggled.

“Damn, I hope not. I haven’t spoken to anyone in decades. I’m sure they’re all off running the world somewhere. Besides, you’re the only partner I’m interested in.”

“Aww, ya big softy. Monogamy looks pretty sexy on you, by the way.”

“I’m really glad you weren’t around back then, Joe.” Frank shook his head with a charming boyish smile on his face. “I would have lost every single damn time.”

“Really?”

“Are you kidding? I forget my name sometimes when we’re together. I’d never be able to hold back the way I did back then.” Frank confessed with an open heart as expertly he took arm away from her and wrapped it around her so that he’d be resting his hand on her ass, “That was back when sex didn’t really mean anything...now? Now that there’s love in the mix it’s different. It’s important now...but also hella fun.” he added with a chuckle and firm squeeze,

“Do you feel up for another game for old time’s sake?” Joey purred in her sexiest voice.

“With you?”

“No, with Mrs. Melburn and her fur coats.” Joey teased as she smacked him. “Of course with me! I might even let you come.” Joey added with a wink.

“You’re the worst.” Frank laughed as they approached the Melburn’s giant home. The house was twice as big and Evelyn’s and whole outside was a buzz of activity and small crowds of people that were all dressed to impress were greeting each other before they went inside.

“You gotta be kidding me.” Joey stared at the people in awe as Frank lead her into the large house and took her coat from her like a trained gentleman.

“You okay?” Frank whispered in her ear as he kept his hand firmly on the small of her back while he lead her into the ballroom.

“Frank, every single woman here is drenched in diamonds. I didn’t even wear my hair up.” Joey fretted. Other than the expensive dress that Evelyn had provided her and her slightly jazzed up makeup, Joey was pretty much her old self. The more she looked around the more she felt like an ugly duckling amongst a sea of beautiful swans.

“You don’t need any of that, trust me. Even if you had showed up in your sweatpants you’d still be most beautiful woman in this room, hands down. Look at me.” Frank took her hand and made her look up at him. “You’re gorgeous and I love you. But if you’re uncomfortable we can bail. My mother might not even notice.”

“I’d notice.” A unfamiliar female voice teased from behind them.

If Joey didn’t know any better she’d think that she saw a trace of fear flicker in Frank’s eyes as he recalled the female voice and slowly turned around to face her.

“Hello, I’m Rachael.” A very petite and stunning woman greeted Joey with a smile that was almost as beautiful as the dazzling diamond necklace and matching earrings that she was wearing.

“Joey. It’s nice to meet you.”

Joey shook the woman’s hand and tried not to blurt out how pretty she thought she looked. Rachael’s dress was exquisite and looked as though it were made especially for her. Not to mention that her light brown hair was expertly pinned up on her head and her makeup made her soft brown eyes pop in such an elegant and sophisticated way. Joey couldn’t look that put together with a team of people helping her, but Rachael made it look effortless.

“Well, I hope that you two reconsider and decided to stay. It would be lovely to be able to catch up.” Rachael beamed at them until she was called away to greet another group of people.

“Wow, lemme guess. One of your _‘partners?’”_ Joey teased before she noticed how pale Frank had gotten.

“Worse.” Frank confessed as he swallowed hard. “My ex fiance.”

 

 


	29. "Meant to Be"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Joey's night take an unexpected turn.

Frank did his best to smile and project as much confidence as he could, but Joey could see right through him. If Joey felt under dressed and out of place at that fancy fundraiser, it was nothing compared to the helplessness she saw reflected in Frank’s blue eyes. As if it were a reflex, Joey put her own feelings aside and focused on taking care of her man when he needed her the most.

“Let’s get a drink.” Joey suggested with a warm sympathetic smile. “Or maybe ten”

Frank took a deep breath through his nose and nodded and followed Joey’s lead. His girlfriend was truly amazing. Seeing Rachael again after all these years had sent him reeling, but Joey encouraged him to put one foot in front of another and kept him from completely imploding. He was starting to really learn what that definition of ‘better half’ meant. Without Joey, Frank was sure that he would have kept standing there like a dumbfounded idiot until it was time to leave.

“Beer, and a champagne.” Frank ordered for them once they reached the bar.

Frank looked annoyed as the bartender poured his beer into a pint glass and Joey elbowed him with a knowing playful smirk. They were surrounded by wealth and luxury, there was no way that Evelyn would be pleased to see her son walking around drinking out of a beer bottle like any average man would. As much as she loved Frank’s style, she wanted to keep the evening as drama free as she could.

“Hmmm, this is delicious!” Joey exclaimed as she took a sip from her delicate champagne flute.

“Moet, I think.” Frank sighed. “Drink up, they don’t serve this at Ferg’s”

“I miss Ferg’s. We should go back and play pool again, I might even let you win.” Joey teased him with a wink as she took another sip of the decadent champagne .

“I highly doubt that. _Pool shark_.” Frank dryly teased as he looked away and took a sip of his imported beer. Frank was still her smartass, but there was still so much on his mind and Joey felt bad for him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Joey suggested. “Running into an ex is never fun. Although, I can’t say that I’ve run into an ex fiance before, though.”

“I probably should have told you…” Frank started to explain as he pulled them off to the side so that they could speak more privately.

“No, I don’t need to know about every woman in your past, Frank. Don’t be silly.” Joey assured him as she took his hand and linked their fingers together. Frank squeezed her hand tight as if he were holding on to her for dear life so Joey squeezed his hand back and smiled up at him. “But she must have been pretty important to you, though. Are you okay?”

“You have the kindest eyes that I’ve ever seen, do you know that.” Frank confessed as he looked into her big blue eyes. She wanted to help him so badly, her love for him never failed to amaze him. “I have no idea what I would do without you.”

“Good thing you’ll never have to worry about that.” Joey assured him.

“I’ll be okay.” Frank nodded as he tried to toughen up. “Rachael was a long time ago, eight years to be exact.”

Joey did the math in her head and realized that they must have broken up around the same time as Diane’s suicide and Frank becoming Mary’s guardian. When Frank saw that she had connected the dots he nodded his head.

“Rachael wanted tenor, not a baby.” Frank chuckled as if it were funny. “Even went so far as to marry a Dean twenty years her senior six months later to help make it happen.”

“She was a professor, too?” Joey gulped. Rachael was already stunning, now Joey could add educated and successful on top of that. If Joey hadn’t felt inadequate before, she sure as hell did now.

“Art History.” Frank explained. “She’s pretty much the reason that Mary and I ended up in Florida, by the way.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s a long story.” Frank sighed and looked around as he tried to figure out where to start.

“Oh, is it?” Joey teased. “Cause I have somewhere else to be.” She joked and pretended to leave but Frank grabbed her arm and the two of them started giggling like little kids.

“Come here, you beautiful dork.” Frank rolled his eyes before he left a quick kiss on her smiling lips.

“You can tell me as much or as little as you want, Frank. It’s me.” Joey reminded him as she smoothed down his lapels, even though he looked perfect. “You know there’s no pressure.”

Of course Frank believed her and she made him feel more at ease. For as much as a gut punch as it was to see Rachael again, it really shouldn’t have been. Everything that had happened between them had lead him to the amazing woman standing in front of him. Frank started to find it funny that a part of him had always dreaded having to tell Joey about Rachael, but Frank was quickly realizing that he was creating problems were there were none. Because, as usual, he saw nothing but love and acceptance shining in Joey’s big blue eyes and it made baring his soul to her as easy as it always did.

“Looking back, I was in a really bad place after my sister died.” Frank started to explain softly after a comfortable silence. “I was grieving and fighting with my mother and I felt guilty about not being there when Diane needed me. So needless to say, I wasn’t the greatest fiance ever. On the days leading up to my sister’s funeral I was pretty unbearable. I was mad and I was trying to figure out of to look after a baby. But to her credit, it only took Rachael less than a day with the Mary to know that motherhood just wasn’t for her.”

“So how did you end up in Florida?”

“We had plane tickets.” Frank shrugged as it were inevitable. “Bought them the night that Diane killed herself, actually. Rachel and I were going to go on vacation and lay on the beach after exams. It was her idea and I didn’t even really want to go. I think that there was some kind of art exhibit or something she wanted to see. And since I had been running so late for our date that night I gave in and gave her what she wanted to try and smooth things over.”

“Good call, Alder.” Joey teased him and was pleased that she got a small laugh from him.

“But then, right after the funeral, she gave me an ultimatum; her or Mary.”

“Ouch.” Joey couldn’t imagine being in that position and she hated that Frank had to go through that. “That’s so much to go through all at once, Frank.”

“The next thing I knew it was Mary and me on the plane headed south instead of me and Rachael. I ended up quitting my job and I cashed in the return tickets and used the money to rent our house.” Frank added as he tipped up his glass and finished it off.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” Frank sadly sung out. “I mean why not, I felt like I had lost everything. Diane, Rachael, even my mother to a certain extent. But, looking back, every day spent looking after Mary had me feeling like I was turning into a new person. After awhile, the thought of going back to that old life just felt wrong and there was no turning back. I hated myself so much back then, so being a stranger and starting over was a nice feeling. Plus, I started to really resent my job after finding out that Rachael had started seeing my old boss the second she left me. It made it really easy for me to walk away.”

“Do you ever miss it? Teaching that is?”

“Sometimes. But everything happens for a reason. If I didn’t go through all of that with her, then I never would have met you and Sam and I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Joey had looked away and had started chewing on the inside of her cheek so he took her hand and gave it a squeeze so she’d look up at him. “You okay? I’m sorry for not telling you all of this sooner. I promise I wasn’t trying to keep it all a big secret.”

“I know, I’m not upset about that. I know you don’t keep stuff from me. It’s just...I don’t know why, but looking around here, I wish that I was more, you know.” Joey shrugged and tried to downplay what she was feeling. “More accomplished than just some small town florist.”

“No, Joe.” Frank shook his head as his heart sank in his chest. He was very familiar with that feeling and he hated that Joey had started to feel it, as well. “That’s what a place like this does to you. It did it to me for years. You’re perfect exactly the way you are and I wouldn’t trade my life with you for all of the diamonds in this room.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Frank finally smiled his first genuine smile since they walked in there. “Look, I thought I loved Rachael at one point. Back then it felt like we had a lot in common and it helped that my mother liked her so being with her kept her off my back. So who knows, maybe I did love her. Maybe I loved her as much as I was capable of at the time. But all of that is nothing compared to what I feel for you now.”

“You don’t have to say that.” Joey softly protested. “It’s not a competition.”

“I know it’s not, it’s just the truth.” Frank assured her. “I know I freaked out a little bit back there, but her leaving me was a good thing. I dodged a bullet, and so did Mary, because you and Sam are our family. You’re the family that we were meant to have. The four of us were meant to be. I knew nothing about how to really love another person back then.”

“Since you seem to be playing the role of the perfect boyfriend, what are the odds of getting you to dance with me tonight, Adler?” Joey giggled now that she was starting to feel like her old self.

“Keep feeding me some more of these, and we’ll see.” Frank teased as he held up his empty beer glass. “But I think I’d rather play a game with my perfect girlfriend.” he added as let go of her hand and ran his fingers down the bare skin of the back of her shoulders.

Frank knew exactly how to get the reaction that he wanted and tried not to smile too big when he felt her shiver under his touch. She was always so responsive to him and he loved it. He watched her closely as she closed her eyes and enjoy his touch.

A peaceful smile spread across her lips and Frank continued to privately trace her bare skin with his fingertips. Frank’s hands were pure magic and she started to forgot where they were.

“I can’t wait to slowly peel that beautiful dress off of you.” Frank darkly whispered in her ear.

“Is this part of the game?” Joey whispered back with her eyes still closed.

“You catch on quick.” Frank hummed and let his nose brush up against her.

“I’m always a slut for you, Alder.” Joey smiled as she looked up at him. “I’m a sure thing, it doesn’t really seem fair.”

“Trust me, Kincade. You always have the upper hand with me, you’re definitely gunna win. I know I’m not going to be able to hold back once I get you alone. But flirting with you is so much fun, I can’t seem to help myself.”

“By all means, please don’t stop.” Joey tried not to moan as he skillfully seduced her.

“All that stupid game taught me was how to fuck without feelings. Looking at you now, I can’t help but realize what a waste of time it was.”

The dark hum in Frank’s voice started to turn Joey on the way that it usually did. Knowing that he wanted her made her feel like she was floating and she wondered if she would ever get used to that feeling. The little devil on her shoulder was considering pulling him into the nearest bathroom and tearing his tux off of him; and the longer his fingertips grazed her bare skin the better the idea became to her. Joey looked into his eyes and Frank seemed to read her mind as his pupils appeared to dilate with desire.

“I’m the luckiest man in this room.” Frank praised against her ear. “Your skin is softer than silk, did you know that. I just want to taste every single inch of it.”

“I’m a spoiled sport if I don’t want to play?” Joey was under his spell and her heart was beating so fast that she ended up breathing out her words in a raspy way that only made her sound sexier to him. “I’m not a teenager anymore, it’s not satisfying enough just for you to make me come. I need to make you come, as well.”

“Fuck, Joey.” Frank groaned through his teeth. Her sexy words had the same powerful effect on him that they always did and Frank tried not to get too turned on while he was surrounded by all these people but Joey smelled so good, she was making it almost impossible not to get hard.

“There you two are.” Evelyn greeted them and broke them out of their little world and effectively solved Frank’s little problem. “Mrs. Melburn has been asking for you, Frank.”

“Oh no, no. no.” Frank protested as his mother began to drag him away.

Joey quickly grabbed his empty beer glass from him before he left and gestured to the glass to let him know that she was going to get him another one. Joey figured that he’d need it once she saw Mrs. Melburn ostentatiously dressed in a huge leopard skin hoop skirt dress and zebra print cape, bless her heart. Her outfit was so loud that it almost hurt her eyes. Joey had seen classier drag queens in her day.

Unfortunately, the line to the bar had grown since their first trip there, so Joey waited patiently and looked around the room and eavesdropped on conversations around her to save off boredom. She couldn’t believe that there were people in this world that could list ‘ballroom’ as a realistic addition to their home. One of the many chandeliers that hung from the ceiling could easily pay for her whole home or maybe even pay for the majority of Mary’s advanced schooling and they’d never have to worry about scholarships again.

Her and Frank really did come from different worlds. Joey related more to the wait staff than she did the other guests in attendance. They were so lucky to have found each other Joey mused. Life could be so random sometimes.

“Joey, there you are!” A cheerful voice called out and broke her out of her thoughts. Joey looked over her shoulder and smiled politely as Rachael practically gliding over to her as if she were floating on a cloud.

Joey had never really been in this kind of a situation before where she had to socialize with the ex of her current boyfriend. But Joey did a quick gut check and realized that she couldn’t really find a reason to hate the woman. Sure, she had hurt Frank in the past, but if Rachael hadn’t then she never would have met him and Mary. Soon the smile that Joey gave her became more genuine and less forced.

“Hi!” Joey sung out and waved at her like a little kid. She quickly stopped and tried to control herself when she realized what an eager idiot she probably looked like. Even though she decided that she didn’t hate Frank’s ex, didn’t mean that she wasn’t still nervous as hell. Rachael was so beautiful in a refined and classic way that Joey had to remind herself to stop staring at her as Rachael made her way to her through the crowds of people.

“I can’t believe Frank left you alone, he knows better than anyone how terrible these things can be.” Rachael smiled such a dazzling smile that Joey almost didn’t hear what she had said.

“Evelyn insisted that he say hello to Mrs. Melber.” Joey explained as she stood up a little straighter. Rachael had all of the class and manners of a finishing school graduate, so much so that it reminded Joey to think about her posture.

“Ahh, I see.” Rachael smirked as she linked her arm with Joey’s. “Luck us then. Come with me, I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager so I know where they keep the good stuff.”

\-------------------------

Rachael took Joey’s hand and lead her through the crowds of people that were now in attendance in the ballroom and brought her to a study down a lavish hallway covered with art that Joey wished she had more time to look at.

“Is that a…?” Joey tried to twist to look at small piece of art adorned in a place of pride on the wall.

“Picasso. You have a good eye. I’m impressed.” Rachael praised as she pulled her into the nearest room.

“So let me guess…” Rachael spun around and put her hands on her hips and looked Joey up and down while a stunned Joey closed the doors behind them. “You seem like a white wine kinda girl, am I right? I know where Richard keeps a great bottle of 2012 Jadot Louis Le Montrachet Grand Cru.” Rachael informed her in perfect French.

“Le what?” Joey asked as she puffed out a nervous laugh.

Rachel noticed Joey’s face cutely scrunched in confusion and Rachael started to laugh along with her.

“To tell you the truth I’m much more of a margarita girl.” Joey confessed. “But I doubt there’s a blender hiding in here.”

“Sorry, I don’t think I can help you there.” Rachael frowned. “There’s some Gran Patron Platinum, if you prefer?”

“Oh no, Frank would have to carry me out of here if I started drinking straight tequila.” Joey playfully protested. “White wine is fine. I actually never really liked wine before I met Frank. But between him and Evelyn, they’re starting to make a real wine lover out of me.”

“Evelyn Adler, that’s one woman that definitely knows her wine.” Rachael boasted as she made herself at home in the study and rummaged through the wet bar in the corner. “I like to joke that I got her in the breakup, as unfair as it sounds.”

Joey remembered Frank telling her once that Evelyn was still friendly with the one woman that had managed to break his heart, and it all made sense.

“I see.” Joey played with her fingers and started to wonder what Frank’s ex was up to.

“I’m sorry. I assumed that Frank had already told you about us.” Rachael slowly explained when she sensed that she had made Joey uncomfortable. She finally found the bottle she was looking for and took a seat on the sofa and motioned for Joey to join her.

“He did.” Joey forced a smile as she sat down beside her and tried to act as though Frank had told her ages ago. “How is your husband? Is he with you tonight?”

“Michael?” Rachael laughed as she uncorked the bottle and poured them both a glass. “No, Michael and I divorced years ago.”

Joey nodded and gulped when realized that she had put her foot in her mouth and inadvertently let Rachael know that she hadn’t known the whole story about her after all.

“Is he...I mean, Frank seems so...” Rachael tripped over her words and for the first since Joey had met her she seemed more human and less of an ethereal beauty. Unfortunately that only endeared her to Joey more. “I’m so sorry.”

“You keep apologizing.” Joey pointed out with an understanding smile. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Rachael. I get that this is a strange situation, but we’re all adults. We can talk about Frank if you want. I really don’t mind. I can understand why you’d be curious after all these years.”

“You’re so nice.” Rachael blurted out and it made both of them laugh. “It’s been so long. I just didn’t expect to ever see him again. When I heard that he was going to be here I just had to come and see for myself. I still can’t believe it, I used to have to drag him to things like this kicking and screaming.”

“Well, it wasn’t our first choice for a night out.” Joey dryly informed her as Rachael handed her one of the glasses. “But here we are.” Joey toasted as she held up her glass.

“Here we are.” Rachael clinked her glass against hers and took a long sip from her glass. “I’ll admit, I didn’t know that Frank was coming with someone. If I had known about you, I’m not sure if I would have shown up. It would feel too…I don’t know, too underhanded, I guess. I’m really not looking to start trouble and I feel terrible about ambushing you like this.”

“Are you ambushing me?” Joey playfully asked. “I thought that you were getting me a drink.” Joey winked.

“I just don’t want you to doubt my motives.” Rachael looked like a little kid pleading with her to be her friend and Joey’s heart couldn’t help but warm to her.

“I believe you.” Joey giggled. “Not every ex in the world is looking to start trouble and steal another woman’s man.”

“Such a boring stereotype.” Rachael scoffed, and Joey agreed with her.

“Besides, Frank and I are in a really good place and I’m a firm believer that you can never make a happy person cheat.” Joey took a sip of her wine and was amazed at how delicious it was. “Gosh, this is really good.” Joey exclaimed. She was really starting to understand why good booze had a giant price tag.

“Is he happy? He seems so happy.” Rachael got straight to the point once it appeared that she had found some courage. “He was always dark and moody, I get it. But just watching him walk in here with you. He was laughing and there was something in the way that he walked… I couldn’t help but remember all of things that I wanted for him years ago, and all of the baggage that I wanted him to let go of. And now it seems like he’s got there. I don’t really know if I’m making any sense, I’m usually not so sentimental.”

“He’s happy.” Joey assured her and impulsively took her hand to comfort her. “Sometimes it’s a struggle for him, but he’s learning how to forgive himself and let himself be happy. I’m really proud of him, he’s really come a long way in a fairly short period of time.”

“I do care about him, but I really don’t want you to get the wrong idea. You’re lovely. It’s just...”

“I get it. I can tell that you’re sincere.” Joey smiled tried to put her mind at ease. “From what I heard the two of you didn’t break up because you stopped loving each other. Life gets in the way sometimes and it’s no one’s fault.”

“I haven’t spoken about Frank in years. He just disappeared and no one ever mentions him. Sometimes I feel like I made him up in my head, or that I met him in another life. ” Rachael confessed almost to herself. “How is...how is his niece?” Rachael cautiously asked.

“Mary is awesome!” Joey beamed, this was a subject that she could talk about all day and Rachael was almost taken aback by Joey’s enthusiasm. “She’s such a great kid, I swear you’d never know that she was only an eight year old. We definitely have our hands full with her.”

“So you and her…you get along, I take it?” Rachael appeared almost afraid to ask.

“Yes.” Joey smiled sympathetically when she realized what Rachael was getting at. “We get along very well.” Joey heard herself downplaying her feelings for Mary and she regretted it immediately. “We more than just get along. I love her very much, she’s my kid.”

“You must think that I’m a terrible person for not wanting her.” Rachael cleared her throat and looked away from her as she took a giant gulp of her wine to try and hide her emotion.

“Not at all.” Joey assured her with confidence. “I was in the same boat as you were about 9 months ago. I was perfectly happy without kids and thought that I would never be mother. Then I met my foster son and that all changed. I completely understand not wanting kids and I don’t think that it makes you a bad person. It’s a giant life changing commitment and I don’t think that anyone should be forced into it if they aren’t ready. ”

“You have a son?” Rachael asked as she delicately dried her eyes and tried not to ruin her perfect makeup.

“Sam. He just turned four and he’s a complete sweetheart. Him and Mary are inseparable and I wouldn’t be surprised if the two of them end up ruling the world one day, mark my words.” Joey lovingly bragged to try and lighten the mood.

“And do Sam and Frank have the same relationship that you and Mary do?” Rachael asked, obviously feeling more comfortable with her.

Joey nodded her head and Rachael smiled a sweet and knowing smile as she continued to drink her wine and confided in her.

“In the end, I knew that Frank would be a great father.” Rachael confessed more to the wine glass in her hand than to Joey; seemingly lost in her memories. “Those early days with Mary were so confusing and frustrating, but I could see his devotion to her and it freaked me out. He told me that he was going to give her to the state, but I knew he was lying. Lying to me, but more importantly, he was lying to himself.”

“That sounds like him.” Joey confirmed with a heavy sigh.

“He never seemed like the kid friendly type. I didn't’ see it coming. I always thought that we were on the same page when it came to children. But, then Diane died, and I could see him turning into Mary’s father in real time, even if he couldn’t see it himself.”

“I wish I could have been there to see them bond.” Joey lamented as she took another sip of her wine. “Seeing how Sam has grown to love him as his dad has really been the best experience.”

“I’m not surprised that Frank would bond with your son, the way he bonded with Mary.” Rachael disclosed with a happier voice. “From the beginning, when we first got together, I always tried to ignore that little voice that told me that Frank might need a family of his own. His own family, or what’s left of it, is so...so...”

“Yeah.” Joey agreed with a sad smile. “I think giving his kids a better childhood than he had has helped him in so many ways.”

“When did you start to feel differently...about becoming a mother, that is? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Ummm. There was a lot of things.” Joey got more comfortable on the sofa, as if she weren’t wearing a big formal ball gown and sipped her wine and tried to recalled some of her earlier memories of Sam. “But I think I started to really care about Sam a few days in. He was my ex’s son and one night early on Sam had a nightmare. I didn’t blame him, he was just three years old and his mother had just abandoned him and he was in a new home with strangers.”

“Poor guy.”

“Yeah, well my ex was pretty useless, so he just kept on sleeping while I tried to calm Sam down. Nothing seemed to work and he kept crawling into bed beside me. I was so tired and frustrated, but he was relentless.”

“See, this is exactly why I couldn’t be a mother.” Rachael laughed to herself. “I feel like I’m breakout in nervous hives just listening to this.”

“Well, it was rough,” Joey laughed. “But something just clicked inside me and before I lost my mind I decided to rise to the occasion and figure out what he needed instead of getting mad at him. So I made room for him in the bed and let him share my pillow with me and I whispered every single bedtime story I could remember to him until he fell asleep. And once he finally started to feel safe, he did. Afterwards, I stared at him for so long, I just couldn’t help it. I remember feeling so proud of myself for finally helping him.”

“Bravo!” Rachael smiled her dazzling smile as she congratulated her and the two of them cheers to her accomplishment.

“After that, it got easier and easier for me to open my heart to him.” Joey explained. “I was so shocked that I actually had the capacity to love another human being like that. I didn’t see it coming.”

“That’s beautiful.”

“It’s hard. I don’t mean to make it sound like some kind of fairytale.” Joey grinned as she took another sip of her wine. “But, at the end of the day Mary and Sam are worth it and I figured it out. Hell, I’m still figuring it out every day. But I really love being their mother and I couldn’t imagine my life without them.”

“You have this lovely glow about you when you talk about them.” Rachael praised. “Motherhood seems to suit you. I could never get there. There’s a lot of pressure on women to have kids, but it doesn’t excite me the way that my career does.”

“That’s perfectly okay.” Joey assured her. “You have to do what is right for you. It’s your life. There’s nothing wrong with you. Plus, I’m sure you get a lot more sleep!”

“I’m so happy that we talked and that it wasn’t weird.” Rachael gushed.

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Joey giggled at her. “Being at a place like this surrounded by Picassos and drinking expensive wine while chatting it up with my boyfriend’s ex fiance is still hella weird for me!”

“I can see what Frank sees in you.” Rachael sighed as she rested her head on her arm and gazed at her. “You have a warmness about you that really puts people at ease. Opening up was never something that Frank was good at, at least he wasn’t good at it with me. But to tell you the truth, if I’m being honest, I don’t think that I really tired to get him to open up. Not in a way that really mattered. Looking back, Frank was so much work. We never would have worked out. But I can see why he’d feel safe and comfortable with you. Hell, I just met you I’m already sharing my deep dark secrets with you!”

The two women shared a laugh but were interrupted by the doors to the study opening and Frank peeking his head in.

“There you are!” Frank whispered loudly when he found Joey sitting there, but stood up straighter when he saw that Rachael was with her, as well. “Sorry, I have your phone, Joe. I couldn’t text you to find you once I got away from my mother.”

“No pockets.” Joey shrugged to Rachael who understood her predicament. “Are the kids okay?”

“Yeah, I haven’t heard anything from Marjory.” Frank sighed as he walked into the room and shut the doors behind him. If he didn’t know any better he’d say that Joey and Rachael looked down right friendly together and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Seeing Rachael again after all this time was surreal enough as it was but it was nice to know that Joey didn’t need rescuing from her.

“The kids aren’t feeling well.” Joey explained to Rachael. “They’ve been sick for a few days now.”

“See, all I can think is _‘yuck_ ’” Rachael laughed as she playfully held her hands up in protest.

“Trust me, I’ve been practically bathing in hand sanitizer for days now.” Joey joked as Frank stared at them and tried to figure out what was going on.

“Did you two want to talk? I can wait outside.” Joey offered when their laughter died down and an awkward silence took over the room.

“You are way too nice, Joey.” Rachael giggled. “Are you sure? You don’t have to go.”

“Absolutely.” Joey jumped up off the sofa and kissed Frank’s cheek but he reached out and took her hand and stopped her.

“What the hell is going on? Are you okay with this?” Frank whispered down to her. Joey looked down right happy but it was hard to trust and didn’t want to hurt her in any way.

“I’m fine. You two should talk. But I can stay if you need me to.” Joey whispered back. Frank looked unconvinced so Joey pulled him aside when he started to look lost. “Don’t worry about me, okay. I’m not the jealous type and you know it.”

“I know but - you can’t be okay with me hanging out with my ex.”

“You have to start believing me, remember?” Joey privately reminded him. “You know that I trust you. But more importantly I trust us. I trust us more than anything.”

“Good, you should.” Frank whispered back but his eyes still made that cute worried V shape. “But why do I have the feeling that you’re up to something?”

“Just talk to her, show her the kind of man you are today. The man that I’m proud of.” Joey sweetly smiled. Frank knew her so well, he wasn’t convinced that she didn’t have an ulterior motive and she rolled her eyes when she realized that Frank could read her like a book and she couldn’t get away with anything. “I just want you to get some closure and try and find out if she really hurt you as badly as you think she did, or if her leaving you hurt more because you were already grieving your sister. Give her a chance and then come and dance with me, James Bond.”

“I really love you.” Frank vowed as he closed his eyes and placed a soft lingering kiss on her forehead and digested her theory. He had never really considered that Rachael leaving him years ago might have felt worse because of the timing of Diane’s suicide.

“I know. I’m awesome.” Joey teased before she left the room with a lighthearted bounce in her step.

Joey closed the giant doors to the study and Frank stared at his feet and tried to think of something to say. From what he remembered of his relationship with Rachael, talking wasn’t exactly their strength. How foolish of him to think that they would have actually stood a chance if they had gone through with their engagement and gotten married. Funny how the things that you thought you wanted so badly change over time.

“So you’re a family man now.” Rachael surmised from her place on the couch in an attempt to break the cold awkward silence between them.

“Yeah.” Frank cleared his voice and tried to gather his bearings. “Technically I’ve been for eight years. But now, Joey and I have a son, too. His name is Sam.”

“Joey was telling me about him. He sounds adorable.”

Frank’s head felt like it was spinning as he opted to take a seat in the armchair instead of beside her on the couch. He was still trying to process all of the old and new emotions that seemed to be crashing down around him like dominos. He couldn’t get over the fact that Rachael was just as beautiful as the day that he proposed to her. (Or maybe more so, if he was being honest with himself.) But the attraction and pull that he had felt for her in the past was completely gone. It was an odd feeling to reconcile with. It was almost as if it wasn’t him that had loved her, but some other version of himself that he wasn’t familiar with anymore.

“So. Why in the world are you befriending my girlfriend and stealing Richard Melburn’s booze?” Frank sung out with ice in his voice. He hated small talk with a passion so he got right to the point so he could rejoin Joey and start to feel like himself again. “Why are you here at all for that matter?”

“Even after all these years, that wall of yours is still there.” Rachael noted with a sad sigh. “I guess I deserve it, don’t I. Well, I heard that you were going to be here and I was curious.”

“News travels fast. I only found out my attendance was required a few hours ago.”

“The whole faculty was buzzing about it. Melissa Melburn was practically screaming it from the rooftops. _‘The long lost Alder, finally returns.’”_ Rachael mocked Mrs. Melburn’s over the top persona. “But as far as Joey goes, I didn’t even know that she existed.”

“But once you met her, you waited till she was alone and decided to bring her to room that we used to fool around in? Nice Rachael, did you give her a detailed play by play?”

“No! I would never do that! You really think you’re god’s gift, don’t you!” Rachael shouted at him, highly offended that he would accuse her of crudely trying to hurt her new friend. “It wasn’t like that at all.”

“What was it like then, Rachael?” Frank sneered at her and tried not to flinch when his disdain for her seemed to sting.

He hated that he was slipping back into the angry closed off man he used to be, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. The idea of anyone trying to hurt his family tested his limits like nothing else. But as Rachael took a sip of her wine to calm her nerves, Frank started to consider that maybe he had crossed a line. He remembered Rachael as being ambitious, not mean spirited.

“Look, what do you want with her?” Frank asked in a gentler tone.

“You’re protective of her, I get it. The truth was, I wasn’t thinking. I saw you again, and you looked really happy and it threw me for quite a loop. You looked so down right cheerful I almost didn’t recognize you. Later, I saw her in line getting a drink and the next thing I knew I was dragging her down the hall. But I actually forgot all about you and me in this study until you popped your head in her looking for her.” Rachael admitted with groan and covered her face in shame. “But she’s pretty great though, Joey that is. You really don’t deserve her.” Rachael teased with a smirk.

“Yes. She is great.” Frank stated, still with a cold dry edge in his voice. “But you know, me being happy shouldn’t be so unusual. I was happy; eight years ago, with you. I was happy, and then the rug got pulled out from under me.”

“I know. The way things ended between us was harsh.”

“Harsh? Yeah, my sister had just died and she wasn’t even in the fucking ground yet, for christ sake!” Frank snapped now that she had finally addressed the bad timing of the her ultimatum years ago and had given him an excuse to go off.

But something else was starting to gnaw at him and make him feel uncomfortable. Now for some reason the memory of their breakup didn’t hurt as badly as it did before. The memory that did still hurt, however, was Diane’s funeral and having to say goodbye to her and he considered that maybe Joey was right.

Realizing that he might have been over reacting about Rachael for all these years was doing his head in and all he wanted to do was run from the study as fast as he could.

“Wait!” Rachael stopped him before he stood up and stormed out. “I know it was selfish of me to make you choose. Especially when a big part of me knew you would choose the baby. It was my cowardly way of making you responsible for ending things. I just regret that I never told you that, even though I couldn’t marry you, I did love you and you did nothing wrong. Of course you should have chosen your niece.”

“And Michael?” Frank scoffed, referring to his old Dean that she started seeing as soon as he left Boston. He was grasping at straws at this point and he knew it. Hating Rachael and making her a villain was just a reflex, the truth was she was free to see whoever she wanted after he left town.

“Michael?” Rachael scoffed back at him and mirrored his tone. “Married for 18 months. It was more of an arrangement than a marriage, but I’m not going to apologize for it because it served us both well. Besides you dropped off the face of the planet and I had no way to-”

“I get it.” Frank interrupted her. He began to hate how sharp he had been with her and started to see that there was no point in being angry with her anymore. “Look, everything happens for a reason. I don’t hate you. I’m sorry if it’s coming off that way.”

“An Adler not hold onto a grudge?” Rachael laughed as if the idea were impossible.

“I’m evolving.” Frank admitted with a charming twitch of his eyebrow. “Joey has a lot to do with that. It’s easier to let things go when you’re happy.”

“I really do like her and I’m glad I got to meet her. You’re really lucky that a stubborn ass like you found someone like her.”

“Thanks?” Frank teased and mocked offence.

“Joey’s out of your league and you know it!” Rachael laughed. She’s ridiculously beautiful, inside and out in this really charming and disarming way. I felt so intimidated by her but she went out of her way to make me, of all people, feel comfortable. Do you have any idea how many women would have clawed my eyes out?”

“That’s not Joey’s style.” Frank laughed at the mere notion.

“I know. But, Frank,” Rachael looked him in the eye stopped laughing with him so that she’d get her point across to him. “Most importantly, she wants children in her life and, from the little that she’s told me about how she became a mother, I think she’s really brave.”

“She really is.” Frank agreed with her and tried not to smile too big with pride as he thought about her. “She’s a great mom… Joey is...I’m not sure how to describe her in a way that would do her any real justice.” Frank admitted as he took a deep breath. “But she’s my best friend and she makes life better for anyone that’s lucky enough to know her.”  
  
“I’m happy for you, Frank. For a short time in our lives, we were good together, you and I. But children was a hurdle that we would never have been able to reconcile with even if Diane hadn’t died. Just please, be good to her, okay.”

“I plan on it.” Frank shyly smiled.

The two of them sat in Richard Meburn’s old study and shared a glass of wine and talked about old times. But after Rachael had teased him three different times about going back to teaching, Frank decided that he should call it a night and find Joey.

“I know I’m pushing.” Rachael conceded when she realized that she had gone too far and made him uncomfortable. “I just can’t picture you fixing boats all day. You were a great philosophy professor, Frank. I used to love sitting in and listening to your lectures. You really had a gift. I hope that you’ll consider going back to it one day. It’s just a shame that you walked away from it.”

“I like my life the way that it is.” Frank touted before he brought Joey’s old wine glass to his lips and finished the contents. “And that’s not something that I say lightly.”

“I understand.” Rachael conceded.

“I should go.” Frank sighed before he pushed himself off the armchair. “There’s a beautiful girl out there that I owe a dance to.”

\----------------------------

“Beautiful, isn’t it.” Evelyn commented on the painting that Joey was gazing at in the hallway just outside of the ballroom.

“Gosh, you startled me!” Joey giggled. Between the champagne and two glasses of wine that she had with Rachael, Joey was feeling the warm effects of the alcohol and had forgotten that she was supposed to be mad at Frank’s mother. “The art in this house is fantastic! I’ve never seen anything like this outside of a museum.”

“And this is just the hallway.” Evelyn smiled at Joey’s child like innocence. “If you’re interested in art, you really should see the rest of the house.”

“Such a shame that it’s all locked up in one home and not available for the world to see.” Joey wistfully sighed.

“You’re far more sentimental than I am, my dear.”

“You can’t fool me, Evelyn.” Joey teased as she bumped Evelyn’s should as if they were old friends. “There’s a heart in there somewhere. Speaking of which, how is the networking going?”

“Why do you ask?” Evelyn was taken aback by Joey’s sudden interest in her efforts to get Diane’s problem published.

“It’s important to Mary, so it’s important to me.” Joey confessed as if it were common knowledge. “Don’t tell Frank, but if Mary decides to stick with mathematics, I really hope that her picture will hang right beside her mother’s one day. And I think that having Diane’s theory published will gives Mary something to strive for and possibly feel closer to her mother.”

“You’re very generous when it comes to Diane.” Evelyn praised in a uncharacteristically warm tone. “It’s very commendable”

“How do you mean?” Joey asked as she tried to suppress a tiny hiccup.

“You share Mary with a her mother’s memory and you don’t take her feelings for her personally.” Evelyn explained.

“Of course not.” Joey gasped as if the notion were absurd. “I really do want her to feel as close as she can to her mother and know as much about her as possible. It doesn’t change our relationship at all.”

  
“Needless to say, I want to succeed, as well.” Evelyn explained as she gazed at the painting in front of them. “Not for just my own ego, but I’d like my granddaughter to be proud of her mother. The only thing Mary knows about my daughter is the unforgivable way that her life ended and that’s no example to set. But... after everything, I think that I would like to be proud of Diane again, as well. I’ve been angry at her for one thing or another for too long, as terrible as that sounds.”

“I see.” Joey whispered and for a second she was stone cold sober.

After a suicide, the feelings of the people left behind were so complicated. Anger, guilt, sadness, and regret appeared to be common emotions. Looking around the room, in dawned on Joey that Evelyn must have been made to feel ashamed of the fact that her daughter took her own life. Frivolous people like these, would never understand or even make the effort to try. Joey wished that she knew what to say to comfort Evelyn.

Instead, Joey took Evelyn’s hand and looked at the painted with her in a comfortable silence. It took Evelyn a moment, but she squeezed Joey’s hand back and accepted her silent comfort.

Diane’s theory needed to published, Joey decided as she held Evelyn’s hand. Joey wondered if there was anything that she could do to help and started asked Evelyn questions about how they could get the support needed to get things rolling in the academic world.

Once Evelyn realized that Joey was interested in helping her achieving her goal, she artfully suppressed her relief and joy that she was no longer alone in her efforts. In no time at all, Evelyn had dragged Joey back into the ballroom and had discreetly pointed out all of the ‘players’ to her and gave her detailed lay of the land. A few minutes went by and Joey was slowly starting to understand who was who and why each person was important.

“Bid on his auction.” Joey suggested and she pointed out who she was talking about. “Bad toupee guy in the elephant tie.”

“Arthur Smith. He leads the Yale math department and he’s never been a fan of mine. Diane’s theory has been sitting on his desk for months and I haven’t heard a word. Why his, Josephine? That painting is absolutely dreadful.”

“When I was standing in line at the bar I overheard people talking about it, apparently his wife painted it and they were making fun of the fact that no one wants it.” Joey conspired with her.

“I’m not surprised. With her taste I’d guess that she was the one that picked out that horrific elephant tie for him, as well.” Evelyn added with a uncharitable snobby scoff.

“Well, maybe if you buy her painting you could flatter his wife and request that she paint another one to auction off when you’re holding your own fundraiser.” Joey explained. “That should get his attention, but in a positive way. More bees with honey and that kinda thing. It’ll give you an in, and it also ensures that he’ll have to attend your fundraiser when the time comes. Any man that would wear something like that to make his wife happy would surely support another cause if it puts a smile on her face. People have been known to do far less for the people they love.. _.even fly to Boston._ ” Joey playfully added under her breath with a wink.

“You are right, my darling girl!” Evelyn exclaimed with joy. “Who knew that your sentimentally would come in so bloody handy!” Evelyn added with laughter in her voice before she rushed to the silent auction table before it closed.

“Hey, I’m looking for my dance partner.” Frank suddenly whispered in Joey’s ear as he came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled against the side of her neck. “Have you seen her? She’s this really gorgeous sexy woman that needs some pockets in her next dress.”

“Girls love pockets.” Joey informed him as he squeezed her tight.

“Is that so?” Frank hummed against her ear and played along. “Learn something new everyday.”

“Yes. Pockets and sexy bearded man dressed like James Bond.” Joey joked as she leaned up against him and cherished the warmth of his body against hers. She couldn’t get over how being in his arms made her feel like she home even though they were thousands of miles away from their house. “How did things go? Are you okay?”

“We talked. Turns out Rachael wasn’t as evil as I remembered her to be.” Frank sighed in defeat. “Don’t tell my girlfriend, but maybe she was right. Maybe I was conflating how I was feeling.”

“Pain is pain. You were going through a lot and you handled it as well as you could.” Joey mused as she gazed out onto the dancefloor. “I don’t think that people are really evil. They’re just people, and people make mistakes. But nine times out of ten they’re usually doing the best that they can in the moment.”

“I leave you alone for two minutes and you turn into a philosopher on me.” Frank teased between soft kisses to the side of her neck. “You believe in people, I love that about you.”

“Dance with me, Frank. You’re making me melt.”

Frank laughed against her neck before he took her hand and lead her into the dancefloor and showed off all of the gentlemanly lessons he had been taught since childhood. He was far more graceful than is tipsy dance partner, but neither of them really noticed. They were too busy smiling at each other and trying to make each other laugh. Joey was so happy and the longer that Frank expertly swung her around the dance floor in her ballgown the more she felt like a princess for the first time in her life.

When they finally said their goodbyes, Joey made sure that she found Rachael and hugged her for a little longer than necessary. She really did like Frank’s ex fiance, but realized that there was little chance of her ever seeing her again.

“Thank you for being so kind.” Rachael whispered in her ear. “Not many women would have been so understanding if they were in your shoes tonight.”

“I was going to thank you for the same thing.” Joey whispered back.

“Well, I was going to tell you to, _‘take care of your family.’_ But I already know that you will.” Rachael sweetly smiled. “Frank and Mary are lucky to have you. I’m positive that Diane would have approved. You four deserve all the happiness in the world.”

“Thank you, Rachael.” Joey smiled back and tried not to cry. “That really means a lot to me.”

“He was a really talented professor, Joey.” Rachael added before she turned to leave. “You didn’t know him back then, but Frank was really great at it. It was more than just a job to him. I just thought that you should know.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Joey smiled back with pride. “Underneath that grumpy, yet very handsome, exterior my guy is pretty brilliant.”

“I’m so happy that I met you!” Rachael gushed as she hugged her again.

When Joey finally met up with Frank she found it curious that he opted to drap his jacket over his arm instead of wearing it for the walk home. It had started snowing again, and after living in Florida for the past 8 years he had been complaining about the cold every since they landed in Massachusetts. Even Evelyn and her new ugly painting had gotten a ride home from the Melburn’s driver instead of joining them in the fresh snow.

It wasn’t until they were a block away that Frank lifted his jacket and presented her with a stolen unopened bottle of expensive Moet champagne.

“You didn’t!” Joey gasped with delight as snowflakes softly landed on her hair.

“Well, you said you really liked it and you deserve something special for how cool you were tonight with Rachael. But really, it’s me that deserves it for putting up with Mrs. Melbourn for half an hour.” Frank playfully groaned.

“I can’t believe you snuck this out without getting caught. You really _ARE_ James Bond, aren’t you!” Joey giggled as she held the bottle for him while he put his jacket on over his tux.

Frank wrapped his arm around her as they walked back to his mother’s brownstone and sounds of their laughter could be heard throughout the empty snow filled streets that he used to know so well as a child. To Frank it was as close to magic as he would ever experience. His past and future coming together as one. Joey was his forever and his ‘meant to be’ and if he had to be back in Boston coming to terms with his past, he was grateful that it was with her.

 


	30. "Meant to Be" Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey tries to fulfill some of Frank’s old fantasizes.

Frank and Joey snuck into his mother’s brownstone and tried their best not to wake anyone up as they climbed up the stairs. Joey really thought that they could be sneaky but little did she know, Evelyn’s stairs were ancient and as creaky as they came, maybe even more so at night; with every step, they seemed to defy the laws of physics.

The fundraiser had been more fun than Frank and Joey had expected and served to provide them with more fun foreplay opportunities then they could handle. All of the champagne and dancing had them feeling like they were in their own happy little world and their romantic walk home in the fresh snow ended up really set the mood and made it hard to keep their hands off each other.

Therefore, their plan was to buck Evelyn’s rules and share Frank’s old childhood bed to make good on the sexy promises they’d made to each other as they flirted all the way home. But they wouldn’t accomplish their goal if they woke up the whole house before they even got to Frank’s bedroom.

“Shhh!” Joey held on to Frank’s arm and tried to get him to quiet down as he rushed up the steps little a bull in a china shop.

“Trust me, there’s nothing we can do. We gotta just soldier through it.” Frank explained in a hushed voice. “The faster we get in my room the better.”

Frank was very familiar with those old stairs and they brought back memories of the many times he had tried, unsuccessfully, to sneak back into his house after curfew. Eventually, he'd learned that it was better to climb in his window and bypass the stairs entirely.

Diane had been great about leaving his window open for him on those nights. The memory of her waiting up for him hurt his heart in a good way. He had all but forgotten about their good times together. Being back in his old childhood home, after all these years, seemed to bring back a lot of old memories of his late sister; good and bad alike.

Frank had considered climbing through his bedroom window that night for old time’s sake. But Joey was still dressed in her ball gown and there was no way that he was going to have her risking her neck just to fool around without his mother catching them.

But, he had to admit, it had been adorable how Joey had taunted him during the walk home and had boasted that she could easily beat him up the garden trellis with one arm tied behind her back; dress or no dress. He loved it when she got feisty like that, but he’d never forgive himself if she got hurt.

Once they finally reached the top of the stairs, Frank spun around and quickly kissed her with a giant smile on his face. “See, easy!” he whispered with a boyish happiness that always took her breath away. “Damn Joe, I can’t wait to get that dress off of you.”

“Lemme check on the kids first.” Joey pleaded when he impatiently tried to pull her towards his old room. “Pleeeease. I miss them.”

Frank was about to protest but stopped when he looked into Joey’s big blue eyes, knowing that this was a battle that he was going to lose. So he, begrudgingly, tiptoed over to his mother’s guest room with her and hoped for the best.

Joey really had the best ideas, Frank mused to himself as he leaned against the doorframe of the guest room that the kids were sharing and watched as Joey kissed them both goodnight.

As it had turned out, Sam had left his little twin bed at some point during the evening and had hopped into Mary’s and the two were sleeping peacefully together with Sam’s beloved stuffed penguin and elephant between them.

Frank’s heart swelled with pride as he took in the sight of his family and marveled at how close they all were. If they’d woken his mother up by coming up the loud staircase, she wasn’t coming to check up on them, so Frank enjoyed the moment and watched Joey lovingly care for their kids in the dark room with only the moonlight coming through the window.

Joey wisely took the blanket off of Sam’s abandoned bed and added it to Mary’s just in case they were cold in Evelyn’s drafty old house and then she kissed them both one more time. Watching her be a mom, while still dressed in her huge fancy ball gown, warmed Frank’s heart in such a profound way. Rachael was right. Motherhood was in Joey’s DNA and Frank had no idea he would find such a wholesome quality as hot as he did.

Joey could feel Frank’s eyes on her as she quietly closed the guest room door and tiptoed back out into the hallway with him. She was about to thank him for indulging her, but before she could, Frank took her hand and swiftly pulled her body against his chest.

Joey looked up at him in the dark hallway and, was about to brag about how cute their kids were, but found herself in a searing kiss that took her breath away before she could. Joey almost couldn’t keep up with Frank, so she stopped trying to and simply enjoyed the feeling of his soft lips paired with the scratch of his beard and tried not to moan when he brought his passionate attention to the side of her neck.

“We’re gunna get caught, Adler.” Joey whispered against his cheek as he held her up when her knees went weak.

Frank knew she was right, so he gave her a devilish wink and led her to his old bedroom. As beautiful as Joey looked that night all dressed up like a princess, Frank was dying to have that ball gown laying on the floor and Joey naked in his bed.

“I’ve never had a girl in here.” Frank whispered as he closed the door behind them and watched her look around his room with curious eyes. “You’re the first.”

“I don’t believe that, Mr. Playa!” Joey giggled as she turned on his bedside lamp and sat down on the edge of his bed. It wasn't too hard imagine what Frank had been like as a horny teenager cooped up alone in his room, assuming he'd done what every horny teenage boy did.

“Seriously.” Frank insisted as he placed their stolen champagne on the desk and took the jacket of his tux off, draping it on the back his old desk chair. “I’d sneak out and meet up with girls whenever I could, but I could never convince any of them to hide out in my room with me. But looking back, I’m sure my teenage game wasn’t as enticing as the threat of my mother’s wrath.”

“I don’t blame them, who’d want to get on that woman’s bad side?” Joey teased. “Why risk it?”

“You’re risking it.” Frank pointed out as he looked her in the eye and expertly took his cufflinks off. Joey had never seen him look sexier and she licked her lips in anticipation.

“Well, your game has improved significantly since then, Alder.” Joey winked. “Because I know for a fact that you’re gunna make it worth my while. Here, let me.” Joey whispered as she walked over to him and loosened his bow tie and unbuttoned his collar for him. “There, that’s more like it, you look more like my Frank now.”

“I thought you wanted 007?” Frank teased.

“No, silly. Just you. All I ever want is the real you.” Joey assured him with a trace of loving awe in her voice. “How in the world did I ever get so lucky.”

Frank looked into her big blue eyes and believed her, letting her loving words touch his heart. Being himself with Joey was the best decision that he’d ever made in his life. Now, when she told him that she loved him, he could believe her. Those self hating voices that had played out in his head every time other women had professed their love for him were silenced when the words came from Joey’s lips. Accepting her love for him was so powerful at times that it physically hurt.

Frank just had to touch her, so he brushed her long hair off her shoulders and delicately traced the shape of her collar bone with his fingertips. He watched as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment with him. Joey was so precious to him. A part of him still couldn’t believe that they were in his old childhood bedroom and that he didn’t have to go through all of this drama with his mother alone. Joey had become his home and as long as she was by his side there was nothing that he felt he couldn’t handle.

“I never want to take you for granted, Joe.” Frank whispered softly to her.

“So don’t.” Joey whispered back with the kind of lighthearted sass in her voice that made him smile. She always found a way to make the world feel brighter and more in focus. As always, Joey tethered him to ground and kept him from being consumed by his own doubts and his overthinking ways.

A ghost of a smile crossed Frank’s lips as he leaned down and gently kissed her lips. Joey kissed him back with just as much tenderness even though she was horny as hell at this point and her heart was ready to burst from her chest.

Frank was being so soft and sweet, so Joey followed his lead instead of succumbing to her more animalistic instincts, like ripping his clothes off. She did love it when he was slow and gentle, but the animal inside her was hard to keep at bay at times. Frank had a way of unleashing passion inside her that she had no idea even existed.

“You’ve really never had a girl in here?” Joey asked as her fingers started to unbutton his white dress shirt as if they had a mind of their own. So much for soft and sweet, she was so desperate to get him naked and feel his skin against hers, she couldn’t help it.

“Not for a lack of trying.” Frank sighed with a cute raise of his eyebrow as he watched her fingers defly unfaasted all of his buttons. Knowing that she was just as turned on as he was was hot as hell. He loved what a force of nature she was. “The only woman to grace these walls, that weren’t related to me, were the ones in my porno mags that I fantasized about while I indulged in a little teenage -”

 _“Self love.”_ Joey finished his sentence for him and made them both laugh.

Frank almost stopped breathing when Joey boldly unfastened his belt and popped the top button of his dress pants. He could feel her breath against his face and smell her sweet perfume and he couldn’t help but get rock hard. He loved that she enjoyed sex, maybe more than he did, and wasn’t shy about it. She made their sex life so much fun.

“Poor thing.” Joey purred as she cupped his hard cock in her hand over his clothes. “Thinking about a teenage Frank in here, all horny and keyed, up is pretty hot. Where did you jerk off? Your bed, right?” She asked with a sly wink. He nodded his head slowly as he looked down at her through his long lashes with a sexy heated stare that made her bit her bottom lip.

“What I wouldn’t have given to have you in here back then, Joe.” Frank practically groaned at the thought. “I swear, you’re hotter than any of those women I used to fantasize about.”

“Whatever.” Joey puffed out a soft laugh and dismissed his praise as she continued to tease him with her hand. “I’m a sure thing, Adler. You don’t have to butter me up.”

“I’m serious.” Frank insisted with nothing but honesty and lust in his eyes. “Being in this room and having your hand on my cock is more than I ever could have hoped for. I want you so bad, Kincade. I was right when I said that I’d never be able to play that stupid game with you. You’re just too damn irresistible.”

“Unzip me and sit on the bed.” Joey softly ordered as she turned her back to him. His confession had given her an idea, she just hoped that she could pull it off.

“Do you want a drink first?” Frank offered as he adjusted his erection that was pressing against his pants and motioned to the champagne. “I stole it just for you.”

“Let’s save it for a special occasion.” Joey sweetly smiled from over her shoulder. “Besides, I’m already kinda drunk on you.”

“I know the feeling.” Frank whispered, almost to himself as he obeyed and unzipped her dress for her as she requested. “You left the tag on?”

“You’re such a buzzkill, Frank.” Joey laughed with a playful groan as she held her dress against her chest to keep it from falling off. “Of course, I did! Did you see all of the zeros that price tag. This dress is probably more valuable than my old car. I want your mother to be able to return all three of these dresses and get her money back. I can’t believe people spend that kind of money for just one event. I could buy two different camera lenses for that price.”

“You’re amazing.” Frank praised with a dark charming hum in his voice. He gently brushed her long hair to the side and left a kissed her bare shoulder then he patiently took a seat on his old antique bed alone. If he knew his girl, he knew that whatever she had planned for him was going to be good.

Once she was certain that Frank was on his bed and watching her, Joey turned her back to him again and took a quick moment to summon her courage before she let her dress fall to the ground in a puddle at her feet. Effectively leaving her only in her black strapless bra and matching panties and a little surprise for Frank.

Little did he know, she also had on a brand new garter belt that held up her sheer stockings. Frank’s eyes went wide when he saw how sexy her new purchase was.

It wasn’t that Joey didn’t own a whole drawer full of sexy lingerie, it was just that, with Frank, it never stayed on her long enough to be fully appreciated. This time, Joey planned on making him wait long enough to notice what she was wearing.

“So, does any of this live up to your teenage fantasies?” Joey asked as she turned around and slowly walked towards him in her lingerie, trying to project as much sexy energy as she could. She ran her fingers across her cleavage and flirted with him as she set her foot on the bed beside him, pretending to adjust her already perfectly placed garter belt. The longer she put on her sexy show, the easier it became. She could feel Frank’s eyes on her and could practically feel how horny she was making him as he squirmed on the bed and squeezed his cock over his clothes.

“You have no idea.” Frank confessed as he quicked peeled off his shirt and tossed it across the room. Joey giggled at his reaction and did a little mental happy dance. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her and it felt like a victory. It was a powerful feeling that only Frank had ever been able to give her. “16 year old me would've had a damn heart attack if you had walked in here looking like this.”

“Get comfortable.” Joey whispered in his ear. “I wanna watch you. Let’s pretend that you’re 16 year old you.”

“You can’t be serious. You want me to jerk off for you!” Frank halfheartedly protested at the thought.

“What? You can’t jerk off to me?” Joey teased. “I gotta be better than a magazine.”

The sexy mischievous look of Joey’s face was driving Frank crazy, but if she wanted to play then, ultimately, he was game. Besides, Frank knew that if he played ball, his girl would always make it worth it.

“You’re the boss.” Frank huffed.

“And don’t you forget it, big guy.”

“Besides, the joke's on you.” Frank slyly smiled as he got on board with her plans. “I jerk off to you all the time.”

“You do?” Joey asked as innocently as she could as she licked her lips and bent over so her ample breasts appeared to be spilling out of her bra right in front of Frank’s face. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep up such a cheesy act without laughing, but Frank seemed to be eating it all up so she decided to push the act as far as she could go. “I always think about you when I touch myself, Frank.”

“Fuck, keep talking like that.” Frank begged with a trace of laughter in his voice. Dirty talk from Joey turned him on like nothing else. “You’re better than porn, you always have been.”

“Let me help you.” Joey offered as Frank started to take his pants off.

At first, Frank thought that she meant that she was going to help him remove his clothes. But he couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead, he watched as Joey got down on her knees between his legs and pulled his dress pants and boxer briefs down just far enough to free his cock. Then she gently pushed his chest and encouraged him to lay down on the bed.

Looking at him through her eyelashes Joey took his cock in her hand and licked him with a flattened tongue from the base of cock all the way up to the tip. Humming to herself the whole way.

“Fuck I love the way your brain works, Joe.” Frank groaned through his teeth as he pressed his chin to his chest and watched her continue to lick him over and over again. He wanted the rest of her mouth so badly, but all she did was lick and try to lubricate him as much as she could.

“There, baby.” Joey purred as she wiped her chin and stood up to get a better view. “Now you’re all set.”

At that point, Frank didn’t need any more encouragement. He kicked the his pants and boxer briefs off completely and then took his now wet cock in his hand and started stroking himself slowly. All without taking his eyes away from Joey in her lingerie.

Joey licked her lips and wasn’t sure what kept her from pouncing on him. She was so wet and turned on, but she held back and watched him on the bed as he began to pleasure himself without taking breaking eye contact. Those sexy blue eyes of his were incredible and made her feel like the most desirable woman in the world when he looked at her. Watching him in such a vulnerable state and knowing that he trusted her, made her ache for him.

“Fuck you’re so sexy, Joey.” Frank moaned in delight as he watched her slip her hand inside her panties and bravely start to pleasure herself as well. She was easily the sexiest woman he had ever laid eyes on. He'd known that she would make this good and he was right.

He watched her, in awe, from the bed, loving the sounds she made and the way that her fingers moved underneath her panties. It was almost too much. So much so that Frank noticed that he had almost reached the brink and had to stop. Being with her like this was so intense, he had to stop himself before he came too soon. Being back in his old bedroom really did make him feel like a teenager again and he wasn’t sure if he could control himself. “Come ‘er. I gotta touch you.”

Joey took pity on him and smiled her sexiest smile as she took her hand out of her panties and slowly sauntered over to him stand between his legs. Without warning, Frank shot up into a sitting position and took her wrist, bringing her fingers to his lips. He licked them clean in the same manner that she had previously licked him.

“You taste amazing.” Frank hummed in delight as he enjoyed her tarte sweetness.

Once he was done, Frank slowly rubbed his nose against her stomach and traced the outline of her now soaked panties with his fingers while she ran her fingers through his hair.

“You smell so damn good.” Frank praised between tender open mouth kisses to her tummy and hips. “Are we done playing?” Frank asked with a dark hunger in his voice. He didn’t bother to wait for her answer. Instead, he threw her onto his bed as if she weighed nothing at all and climbed on top of her.

“Not having fun?” Joey teased with a playful pout, her long hair fanned out on his bed. “I just wanted you to have your teenage fantasy.”

“Baby, do you have any idea how hard I am for you right now?” Frank explained as he yanked her strapless bra down and took one of her nipples between his lips. “You’re every fantasy, teenage and otherwise…all I can ever think of is you.” He mumbled against her skin.“I swear, sometimes it feels like you’re a part of me or something. You’re turning me into a sappy love song, Kincade.”

“Don’t stop.” Joey moaned as she arched her back while Frank went from breast to breast licking and sucking at a frantic pace that made her burn for him. “Fuck, Frank. Don’t be gentle. I want to feel you. Be rough. I don’t want a sappy love song right now.”

“What do you want, baby?” Frank goaded her with a sly smile as he squeezed and fondled her breasts. “Say it.”

“Make. Me. Come.” Joey ordered between panting moans.

Frank loved how Joey would practically lose control when she got like this. Her hands were everywhere as if she desperately wanted all of him at once. He loved that she cared about him enough to act out an old teenage fantasy, but masterbating to a hot chick in his bedroom had never really a fantasy of his. But being with a woman that challenged him the way Joey did certainly was.

In bed, Joey had a way of keeping him present and forcing his heart open wide while at the same time taking what she wanted from him. It’s not that she was selfish because that wasn’t the case at all. But knowing, with absolute certainty, that she was enjoying herself, maybe more than he was, was incredible. But what was truly special about Joey was that she was always present with him, as well. Being connected to woman, beyond the physical, had been a fantasy that Frank had never been able to full articulate before he'd met Joey and she managed to fulfill that unknown need for him every single time they made love.

Frank knew just how to up the ante as he placed his thigh in between her legs legs and encouraged her to grind against him as he groped her breasts and tasted every single inch of her soft skin that he could get his mouth on. If she wanted rough, he was more than happy to oblige her.

Frank knew exactly how to drive her crazy and, soon, Joey was lost in her own pleasure as she rubbed up against him and had her fingers dug deep into his back. She was so lost, in fact, that she was confused when Frank suddenly stopped and put his hand over her mouth while, at the same time, pulling her panties off to the side with his other hand.

“You’re too loud, Joe.” Frank whispered inches away from her face but then started grinning at her when her big blue eyes went wide when she remembered where they were and why they needed to be quiet in the first place. She was so close to coming against Frank’s leg, she blushed thinking of the kind of noise she must have been making.

He could feel her smile against the palm of his hand and Frank tried his best not to burst out laughing. He couldn’t believe that they were in this situation, but because he was with Joey, Frank found their predicament hilarious. Ever since he'd met her, she had made him feel like a teenager again. He just never thought that they would have to secretly fool around like teens, too.

“Do you still feel like torturing me with all of this teenage fantasy bullshit. Or are you actually gunna let me fuck you like a grown up. You know you want it.” Frank kept his hand over her mouth but Joey nodded her head and he could feel her smile again against the palm of his hand while she went back to rubbing her pussy against his thigh again.

“Do you need my dick, Joey?” Frank taunted in his rich commanding voice. He wanted her to answer him so he could hear the sexy desperate need in her voice when she was turned on. But when he went to take his hand away, she grabbed his wrist and kept his hand over her mouth with a dark playfully twinkle in her eye. Frank caught on to what she wanted and loved the fact that he had a woman that loved to play just as much as he did. “Have I ever told you that you make fucking so much fun?”

Joey rolled her eyes at him, but gasped against his hand when he entered her in a single thrust and started fucking her hard and fast into the mattress without giving her time to adjust to his generous size.

She'd asked him not to be gentle and Frank was having a fantastic time obeying her. Joey was so thankful that Frank had her mouth covered because, when she felt her release quickly building, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to control herself. Frank filled her so completely and that fullness felt devine. He always knew exactly what he was doing and Joey had always been dazzled by his skill, but never more than in that moment. Joey loved that she had finally found a man that took the time to learn her body because every single one of his thrusts seemed to expertly hit her sweet spot and brought her closer and closer to coming.

Frank was so passionate and didn't hold back in the slightest. He stopped only long enough to take her panties off completely and throw them cross the room while she did the same with her bra. Without words, he quickly pinned her legs apart and dove for the apex of her thighs with a single minded hunger and frantically lapped up her juices as she pressed her lips together and tried not to cry out.

He would have eaten her longer, but poor Joey was having a hard time staying quiet. Making her moan was usually his goal, but tonight they had to be more careful. So Frank went back to fucking her as roughly as she had originally wanted and covered her mouth again with his large hand.

As always, the sound of him groaning in pleasure against her ear with every single hard snap of his hips was quickly bringing Joey to her climax.

Frank was trying to be quiet, but he was failing, just as Joey had. To compensate, Frank buried his face where her neck met her shoulder and used his other hand to find hers and link their fingers together. Soon, Joey wasn’t quite sure what he was more focused on: fucking her or kissing and sucking her neck. He squeezed her hand tight while he enjoyed doing both. He figured that the burn of his beard would drive her wild and he couldn’t have been more right.

All Joey could do was wrap her legs around his narrow waist and hold on to his hand and his back for dear life when Frank forced the crashing waves of her orgasm to fall all around her. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her fingers dug deep into his back as he continued to plunge into her with abandon while she came.

Before she could recover from the peak of her first orgasm, Frank flipped her over and took her from behind. She let out a squeak when he pushed her head down into his pillow and raised her ass up high where he wanted her.

“Quiet, baby.” Frank ordered sternly with dominance in his voice.

“Fuck, I love it when you’re like this.” Joey mumbled into his pillow and giggled when Frank chuckled wickedly behind her.

“I can tell. You’re so fuckin’ wet, Joe. This is better than anything I could dream up when I was a stupid angry teenager.” Frank praised. “Still want me to be rough?”

 _“Abso-fucking-lutely!”_ Joey playfully groaned from his pillow.

Frank puffed out an amused laugh at her reaction but didn’t need to to be told twice.

In this position, Joey still managed to meet him thrust for powerful thrust and used his pillow to muffle her moans and her passionate curses. Frank took advantage of the new position and left a resounding slap to her ass as he continued to fuck her as hard as he could. He rubbed where he had spanked her to take away the sting, but he couldn’t resist doing it again knowing that she’d love it and that he could get away with it. Afterall, Joey wasn’t the only one that wanted to play that night. Frank just hoped that he hadn’t been too loud, but he had to admit, it was totally worth the risk.

Frank dug his fingers into her hips as he continued to fuck her and Joey found his passion for her such a turn on that she found herself coming for a second time. It happened so quickly that she almost didn't know that it was going to happen until she reached her peak and had her fingers tangled up in the bed linen.

Frank tried not to groan too loudly when he felt her tighten around his cock as she came that second time. He felt a swell of pride when Joey began to tremble beneath him and surmised that he must have made her come especially hard. It was an amazing feeling that fed his ego and he relished every single second of her pleasure.

“That’s it.” Frank smoothed as he rubbed her back and pushed inside her as far as he could while she panted and tried to recover. “That’s my girl. Ready for another one?”

Joey nodded and let out the cutest whimper so Frank pulled her up so that her back was resting against his chest and he kissed her neck while he wrapped his arms around her and let her rest for a moment. Feeling her heart racing through her back was so intimate and profound, he really wanted to memorize that feeling. Love like that was so rare and important, Frank had no idea what he had done to deserve something so special.

“Did I break you?” Frank teased against her neck with a dark sexy smirk.

“Yes, but in the best possible way.” Joey confessed with a breathless quality that made Frank’s hands dig deeper into her flesh in excitement. “Break me again, baby.”

Her words had the same effect on him as the usually did and Frank began his punishing rhythm again as if she had challenged him. He wasn’t sure if there were a way for two people to be closer than they were in the moment, but he needed to feel as much of Joey’s body against his as he could. His love for her was so powerful in that moment, it felt as though his only purpose in life was to love her and make her come over and over again. It was a clarity that Frank found so intoxicating that soon he was completely lost in their moment.

“So good, Frank.” Joey praised through her panted breaths now that she didn’t have his hand or a pillow to stop her. “Give it to me. Fuck, I love you. You know I want it.”

“Fuck.” Frank cursed through his teeth as he thrusted into her. Joey knew exactly what to do to push him over the edge. Hearing her was surely going to make him come before he was ready, so he wrapped his arm around her body and found her clit and worked it exactly the way she liked. If he was going to come, than he wanted to make her come one last time.

“That’s it, Joe. Come for me.”

“Harder, please, oh god.” Joey knew that she was close again and covered her own mouth with her hand to try and quiet herself. Frank knew her body so well that when he made her come that third time, her eyesight went blurry and she stopped breathing while he tried his best to draw out her climax as long as possible with his expert fingers.

Frank didn’t wait for her to recover this time before he started chasing his own release. He couldn’t believe that he had managed to hold out for a long as he had. Joey was so warm and wet and he wasn’t lying when he'd told her that she was become the focus of every single one of his fantasies. Fucking Joey like this in his childhood bedroom was just kinky enough to bring out the animal in him.

He took her arms and folded them behind her back to hold her in place. Just when he thought he couldn’t be turned on more, she dazzled him with her flexibility and rested the back of her head on his shoulder and kept quietly chanting the word “yes” as if it were her new mantra and brought him to the brink of coming.

Frank realized that he was being a lot rougher than usual but he couldn’t seem to control himself, nor did Joey seem want him to. He loved that he had finally found a woman that was his match; in and out of the bedroom. She surrendered herself to him completely as he fucked her and it was a sensation that was difficult for him to put into words.

Frank was soon lost in his own bliss and was fucking Joey so enthusiastically and at such a punishing pace, that when he finally started to come inside her, he almost didn’t heard the loud crack that the bed made. Before either of them could process what had happened, they felt the earth tip and they tumbled onto the hardwood floor with a hard thud.

Only it wasn’t the earth that had tipped them over, Joey realized, rubbing her head, as she sat up to survey the damage and saw that Frank’s childhood bed had snapped in two places and was now at a 45 degree angle in the middle of the room.

Frank and Joey looked at each other with their mouths hung open in shock as they both realized at the same time what they had done and then in unison they both started laughing like little kids at the new predicament they found themselves in.

“Are you okay?” They both ask at the same time through their giggles.

“I told you to break _me,_ big guy. Not the bed!” Joey giggled at Frank as she watched him, as naked as the day he was born, scramble to take a look at the antique bed frame to see if he could fix it.

Once Frank realized that the old bed was pretty much destroyed and his handyman talents were fairly useless without his tools on hand, he rejoined Joey back on the floor. She had begun to make a little makeshift bed for herself on the floor as she waited for him and he found hanging out with his naked girlfriend on the floor more cosy and inviting then his old lopsided bed.

“And you thought it was going to be one of the kids that broke your mother’s precious antiques.” Joey giggled.

“Should make for some interesting breakfast conversation.” Frank dryly quipped back at her as he laid down beside her and invited her to cuddle up next to him on his shoulder; an invite that she happily accepted. “My mother used to ground me for a week if she ever caught me jumping on that damn thing as a kid. I’m kinda glad that I ended up killing it, to tell you the truth.”

“I can’t believe that that crash didn’t wake up the whole house. It sounded like a bomb going off.” Joey yawned as she snuggled up on his chest.

“Don’t worry, the kids can sleep through anything.” Frank assured her.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to sleep in the bed in the adjoining room?”

“No, but you should, though.” Frank offered. “I’m going to stay in here. Sleeping in Diane’s old room just doesn’t feel right for me.”

“Naw, I sleep better with you, Adler.” Joey sighed as she enjoyed the sweet satisfied smiled on Frank’s face when she choose roughing it with him over a comfy soft bed. “Have you been thinking about Diane more lately? You know, now that we’re here in the house where you guys grew up?” Joey asked as she traced small figure eights on his chest and marveled at how the moonlight streaming in from the window made Frank look almost magical.

“Yeah,” Frank admitted as he lazily ran his fingers up and down her arm. Joey knew him so well and he loved it. He wasn’t lying when he told her that she was starting to become a part of him. “Especially when we tried to run up those freakishly loud stairs. I swear they’ve gotten even louder.” He added with a chuckle.

“Did you and your sister ever try and sneak back into the house together?”

“No no. 99% of the time Diane wouldn’t even consider sneaking out with me. I asked, but she’d never budge.” Frank explained to her in the dark. “She was too busy being the perfect kid but I knew that she was tempted sometimes. But it was her that suggested that I climb in through my window instead of getting caught on the stairs every weekend.”

“She really was a genius, wasn’t she.” Joey mused as she tried to imagine what Frank and Diane were like as teenagers.

“At first, I thought that she suggested the window so she could rat me out, but as it turned out she had come in through our bathroom and made sure that my window was open and unlocked for me. More time than not we’d stay up and I'd tell her all about my night.”

“That was really cool of her.”

“Yeah, it was.” Frank sighed to himself as he stared up at the ceiling and started to remember more of the good times he had with his little sister. “She had my back in her own way. She knew that I needed to get away from this house and blow off steam. I thought that she should, too, to be honest. So after a while I’d start bringing her home donuts or I’d get the girl I was seeing at the time to pick her up some kind of girlie trashy magazine. Stuff that Evelyn would never let her have. Just my way of saying thank you.”

“Well, that was really cool of _you._ ” Joey smiled against his chest. “Alice would kinda do the same for me. Once I got my drivers license I would cover for her with my mom and I’d picked her up from parties after she had had too much to drink. After the whole Robert thing, it took me a long time to go out at night and socialize with strangers. So more times than not Alice would go out and party without me until I started to feel safe in my skin again.”

“Fuck, I really hate that guy.” Frank grumbled before he kissed the top of Joey’s head and foolishly vowed to himself that he’d never let anything hurt her ever again.

“He’s no one’s favourite person. Not even Patricia's,” Joey teased and for the first time she was thankful that she was missing their wedding. “I eventually got over it, obviously. But I always snuck out to help Alice if she needed me to. Some of my best memories I have of the two of us are at the all-night diners we’d stop at on our way home. And it was always the drunk girl’s treat to thank me for the save. After a while she’d claim she only partied so that I would have to leave the house and live a little.”

“That sounds like Alice.” Frank chuckled and tried to picture the two of them as teenagers goofing off and always having each other’s backs. He loved how close they were even to this day. They really were more than cousins. “How is she...you know...after the birthday party and seeing Mitch face to face again?”

“We’ve texted a lot since then and she insists that she’s fine now.” Joey explained. “But I was still worried so Barry and I talked, too, before we left for the fundraiser. He assured me that she’s telling me the truth not just telling me what I want to hear and he let me know that the baby is good and healthy, too.”

“What?!” Frank almost shot up in surprise. “The baby? Like a baby baby? A human baby?”

“Shit,” Joey cursed. “It just slipped out. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. It’s still really early and they aren’t telling people yet.”

“Alice Kincade and Barry Nelson are having a kid!” Frank exclaimed with a big bright smile as the happy news began to sink it. “Wow, that’s incredible. I never saw her as the type, but then again, I never thought that she’d end up with a guy like Barry, so what do I know.”

“Just don’t say anything.” Joey sternly ordered. “My aunt had a really hard time having her. She lost three pregnancies before Alice and then Alice lost a baby, herself, when she was 21. My mom and I are just waiting on pins and needles and hoping for the best. The women in our family seem to have the worst luck and we’re all overly cautious and superstitious.”

“I won’t say a word, Joe. I’m happy for them.”

“But I’m glad that you have happy memories of your sister, Frank.” Joey sweetly smiled as she changed the subject and gazed over to the window that Frank had snuck in and out of countless times. “But mostly I’m proud of you for letting your walls down long enough to remember some of the good times. I know it’s not easy for you.”

“I think getting easier.” Frank surmised as he let out a deep cleansing breath. “I really snapped at Rachael tonight when I thought that she was at the Melburn’s to hurt you. It got kinda ugly. But thanks to my super smart girlfriend, I realized that I didn’t hate her as much as I thought I did and I smoothed things over. I had no idea how lighter I’d feel once I had closure. Hanging on to all of that hate and blame was more exhausting than I realized.”

“You’re a good man, Frank Adler. Do you have any idea how proud I am of you? The man that I met months ago would have held on to his anger for dear life. I know how badly you want to be a better man, and you’re there, Frank. It kills me that you can’t see how far you’ve come.”

Frank kissed the top of her head again and hugged her naked body close to his. As usual, Joey’s words had affected him in such a profound way. She was right, Joey was always right and he wished that he could be more like her and believe in people more.

Soon, Frank drifted off to sleep on the floor with Joey in his arms and hoped that he could continue to make her proud of him. Because to Frank, that was the ultimate goal. Joey and his kids, those were the people that deserved to have the best and truest version of him. And now that Joey was in his life Frank was starting to understand who that authentic version of him really was, and he had to admit, he didn’t hate who that person was turning out to be.

\----------------------------

The next morning Frank woke to sore back and the bright morning sun shining in his face. He was too old to be sleeping on hardwood floors and was ashamed to admit how long it took him to get off the floor and stand up straight.

He showered as quickly as he could and hoped that the hot water would soothe his back, but he was still sore as he stood in front of the mirror and brushed his teeth.

As usual, Joey, being the chirpy morning person that she was, was already wide awake and all smiles when she strolled back into the bathroom and made funny faces at him through the mirror behind him. She was such a dork, he tried to smile back her but ended up wincing in pain when she playfully bear hugged him.

Her goofy smile turned to a frown when she pickup on his pain and soon she insisted that he do some elementary stretches with her to try and limber up.

Frank very slowly put on his boxer briefs and found his lack of flexibility embarrassing, but they had a long day of traveling ahead of them so Frank went along and stretched with her and tried not to groan too loud.

“Well, it’s official.” Frank sighed. “I’m an old man.”

Joey rolled her eyes at him but she couldn’t help but admire the way his body moved and how impressive his muscles were. Her man was a snack, but she was worried about him.

“Here, this isn’t working.” Joey announced and made him sit down at his old desk and started massaging his shoulders and down his back.

“Ah, you’re so good at that.” Frank moaned as she squeezed and massaged his tight stiff muscles and started to work her magic all the way down his back.

“Remind me not to take you camping.” Joey teased.

“Oh, no worries, I’ll remind you.” Frank sarcastically quipped back. Camping never interested him at all. “Why go out in the woods to pretend that you’re homeless?”

“Because it’s fun.” Joey scoffed. “Nevermind, grumpy, you’re not invited anyway.” Joey sassed him as she continued to massage him and work out all of his kinks. She hated the idea of him being in pain, but also liked taking care of him. She was whipped but she kinda loved it.

“Oh, that Girl Scout thing? Mary roped you into that. Great, saves me from doing it. You’re really proving useful, Kincade.” Frank teased. “I get a personal masseuse and someone to fill in for me and sleep on the ground with Mary so I don’t have to.”

“We’ll you can rub me down when we get back.” Joey teased back but giggled when Frank made a delighted hum sound to imply that he was looking forward to it.“We should probably stop hiding out in here and face the music and tell your mother about the bed. Maybe try and get the kids feed before we have to leave for the airport, too.”

“You’re the boss.”

“You tell your mom about the bed, and I’ll deal with the kids.” Joey suggested.

“Sure, way to hang me to dry.” Frank huffed.

“Dude, she’s your mother, not mine.”

“I’m well aware of that fact, Joe.” Frank snapped. “But she likes you more than she likes me.” Frank insisted and tried not to sound like he was whining, but in his head he knew he sounded like a petulant child.

“You are so not a morning person, babe.” Joey called him out with a comically raised eyebrow. “Look, she’s not going to like me either if I tell her that I broke your bed. I wasn’t supposed to be sleeping in here in the first place, remember?”

“Can’t you just lie to h-” As soon as the words passed his lips he started to shake his head in defeat. “Of course you can’t. You can’t lie to save your life.”

“Look, I suggest just telling her the truth. But if that’s not an option, you could just tell her that it broke in the middle of the night,” Joey suggested as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Then find a way to throw in the fact that no one has used that old antique bed in years. Neither one of those are technically lies.”

“Sneaky.” Frank teased as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m being a little bitch aren’t I?”

“Kinda. But you in extra grumpy mode is kinda hot. It makes me wanna go break another bed.” Joey teased but before she left the room he playfully smacked her ass to get even.

While Frank left to deal with his mother in the study, Joey got the kids dressed and ready for their flight to Montana. Afterwards, Frank and Evelyn were still talking so Joey and the kids had some time to kill so Mary and Joey sat down at Evelyn’s beautiful grand piano and practiced a duet that they had been working on for a few weeks while Sam played with his hot wheel toys by their feet.

Joey was so impressed with how far Mary had come with learning the piano in such a short period of time. She was getting to witness in real time just how gifted Mary truly was and Joey couldn’t have been more proud of her. Joey made a mental note to look into finding her a real piano teacher when they got home and, when she brought up the idea with her, Mary practically beamed with excited happiness. The idea of performing in an actual recietal one day had the two of them downright giddy.

There were so many things that Joey and Mary were excited for in the upcoming months. Camping trips with Mary’s Girl Scout troop, a mother and daughter yoga class they had signed up for, and all of the cool extra curricular activities that Howard Elementary School had to offer. Mary had even expressed some interest in soccer after Joey and Frank had signed Sam up t-ball a few weeks ago.

Mary seemed to read Joey’s mind and brought up all of the Girl Scout badges that she had been saving for her and Roberta to work on as soon as Roberta got back from Louisiana and Joey suggested some that she could help them with, as well. Joey beamed with pride when Mary expressed an interest in earning her photography badge.

They were about to start their duet again from the beginning when it dawned on Joey that there was a chance that, if they didn’t do Evelyn’s bidding successfully in Montana, they would be neck deep into another custody battle by the time they got home. Therefore there would be no time for little else other then fighting to keep their family together, let alone piano lessons or any of the other fun stuff that they had planned.

Joey started to feel the walls close in on her and she began to fumble her end of their duet. She tried to calm down and keep her cool but she was finding it hard to breathe. All Joey wanted was to be a part of Mary’s life and the idea of being separated from her was so unbearable that the mere thought of it was starting to physically hurt her. Mary was her daughter in every single way that truly mattered, she couldn’t lose her, she just couldn’t. Life would never be the same without her.

“Joey?” Mary sensed that something was wrong with Joey and stopped playing the piano and looked up at her with concern. “What happened?”

“Nothing, sweetie.” Joey lied, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. “Do you want to start again?”

“You’re hands are shaking.” Mary pointed out before she wrapped her arms around Joey’s waist to try and comfort her. “Is there anything that I can do? Do you want me to get Frank?”

“No, baby girl.” Joey protested as she hugged Mary back and tried to keep her shit together. “I just love you so much and I really want to be able to do all the fun stuff that we have planned.”

“Is this about my grandmother trying to get me to live with her again? It’s going to be okay. I promise.” Mary tried her best to cheer her up once she caught on to what was bothering her. “I won't let anything bad happen in Montana.”

“No, Mary. You are not responsible for any of this.” Joey sternly ordered as she squeezed her a little tighter. “Please, for once in your life, just be a kid and let me and Frank be the grown ups. Let us do the worrying, okay, sweetheart.”

“But I love you, too, and I don’t want you to be sad. I got to stay with Frank once, and I’ll get to stay with him again.” Mary insisted. “We’re a family now. Even Sam loves Frank like a dad, now. Families stick together. That’s what I’ve been trying to teach Sam since I met him.”

“Families do stick together, sweetheart.” Joey confirmed with a proud smile. “Are you okay with Sam calling Frank daddy?”

“Of course, it was my idea.” Mary explained as she smiled down to Sam who was lining up all of his little toys cars. “I told him that if he ever started to love Frank like a daddy then he should probably think about calling him that one day if that’s what he wanted. Kids call their step parents mom and dad all the time, but each family does what’s right for them.”  
  
“You might be a math genius, but your heart is my favourite thing about you, Mary Adler.” Joey smiled as her eyes welled up with happy tears. “Sam and I are so lucky to have you and Frank in our family.”

“If I ever...I mean, one day if you and me…would it be okay...I don’t have to. I mean, it’s not like I’m ready yet…”

“Are you asking me if you can call me mom one day?” Joey smiled as she looked into Mary’s beautiful blue eyes as the little girl slowly nodded her head. “If it feels right to you, I would really love it if you called me mom. But there’s no rush. I’m not going anywhere. And if it never feels right then you don’t have to. You could keep calling my Joey for forever and it’ll never change the way that I feel about you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. You don’t have to call me mom, Mary. I will love you forever, no matter what. You had a mother and she loved you very much and I never want to replace her. You don’t have to start calling me mom just because you want to make me happy or you’re scared that you might have to live with your grandmother. Our relationship is going to fine no matter what.”

“I’m so mad at Evelyn for doing this.” Mary suddenly huffed when her heart started to fill with too much emotion. As usual, Joey had given her room permission to be herself and proved that she loved her unconditionally. Mary had everything that she had ever wanted and hated that her new family would be taken away from her. The uncertainty of their situation naturally angered the spirited eight year old and she lashed out instead of being vulnerable. Mary truly was an Adler through and through. “I wish she never showed up last year. Life was better without her. All she does is want to wreck people’s lives. You and Frank want me for me. I’m better off with you guys. You don’t just want me because I’m smart. I hate her!”

“Oh, Mary. You don’t mean that, sweetheart.” Joey shook her head and pulled Mary closer against her side. “Of course we love you for you. But ‘families stick together,’ remember? And your grandmother is a part of our family, too. She just really wants your mother’s theory to be published and she lashed out. I think that we should find a way to forgive her for that. No one is perfect, but families should at least try and forgive each other.”

“What if she wasn’t just lashing out? What if she wasn’t bluffing.”

“Evelyn will always be your grandmother. Nothing will ever change that. If she wasn’t bluffing, it might be harder to forgive her, but I think that we still should.” Joey sighed and hated that Mary might be right. “I just don’t want you to hang on to your anger, Mary, even for me.”

“Marjory has breakfast waiting in the dining room, my dear.” Evelyn announced suddenly from the doorway behind them and made them both jump.

Evelyn had a look on her face that Joey couldn’t quite read. Maybe she had been eavesdropping on her and Mary again or maybe she hadn’t taken the news of Frank’s broken bed very well. Either way, Evelyn’s sour mood made for a very awkward breakfast.

You could have cut the silent tension with a knife. Joey could tell that Frank and Evelyn were at odds (presumably over the broken bed), but luckily little Sam was none the wiser. The little boy hadn’t known any better and continued to try and make friends with Evelyn while everyone else ate their food and tried to keep to themselves.

All Sam knew that Evelyn was Frank’s mother and Mary’s grandmother and therefore assumed that she would love and accept as a member of her family as well. Unfortunately, for that morning at least, Evelyn was not in a very charitable mood.

Joey watched Frank everytime that his mother answered Sam’s innocent four year old questions sharply or with annoyance in her voice. Frank was having none of it and would give Evelyn a look at that almost made Joey regret coming to Boston. He was being overly protective of Sam to the point where he counted any slight to the four year old as an insult to him, as well. The anger in his eyes made Joey worry if they had made the right decision.

In fact, as Joey looked around the grand dining room table, it seemed as though all three of the Adlers had sat down at the table that morning ready for a fight. She and Sam seemed to be the only ones that had a smile for each other.

Joey assumed that Frank and Evelyn had already fought over the bed and had brought that animosity with them to breakfast. Even poor Mary still seemed pissed off at her grandmother after their talk at the piano and refused to make any attempt at small talk.

“Okay, this isn’t going to work.” Joey announced. “No one is ever going to believe that we’re all big one happy family when we all look like we could kill each other!”

Evelyn toss her napkin on the plate and crossed her arms, ready for a new fight to start but Joey just smiled at her and shook her head because her reaction just proved her point. Even Frank opened his mouth to say something, but Joey motioned for him to give her minute.

“Apologize. Both of you.” Joey demanded. Frank looked offended, but Joey wasn’t going to let him off the hook. “Yes, you, too. Apologize. I mean it.” Joey couldn’t believe that neither of them would budge, so she caved in first. “Fine. I’ll start then. We broke your bed...well, Frank’s bed. We broke it and I’m sorry. We didn’t respect your rules and I’ll be happy to pay for any of the damages.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Josephine.” Evelyn huffed with a snide laughter in her voice. “I’m not going to charge you. Thank you for your apology, dear. I just wanted my son to admit it himself.”

“Oh.” Joey gulped.

“I’m sorry, mother.” Frank sighed but Joey gave him a pointed looked when he didn’t sound sincere. “No seriously, I am sorry. And I’m also sorry for not owning up to it. Old habits die hard. Fighting like this isn’t going to help anyone.”

“I always thought it was a silly tradition.” Evelyn compromised. “Maybe it was the fragile nature of her furnishing that made my mother in law instate such a rule in the first place. That was why I never let you play on that bed when you were a child.”

“How did you guys break a bed?” Mary innocently asked with a mouthful of eggs in her mouth.

“Wrestling.” Frank quickly lied with the first thing that popped into his head.

“Like UFC?” Sam added.

“Yes, just like Ultimate Fighting.” Joey added without taking her eyes away from Frank’s. The twinkle in his eye was too much and Joey bit her lip to keep from giggling.

“Well, I hope you weren’t too rough, Frank.” Mary chasized. “Nobody likes a bully.”

Frank got halfway through trying to defend himself but trying to say the word “rough” was his undoing and him and Joey had to quickly excuse themselves as the rest of the table could hear their playful laugher ring out in the hallway.

They had a long flight to Montana ahead of them that day and Joey was relieved that she had managed to mend some fences between Evelyn and Frank before they ended up killing each other. She only hoped that her lucky streak would continue until they were all back home in Florida.


End file.
